The Unexpected Guest
by barbeed
Summary: Sam pleasantly surprises Tree Hill by showing up to Brooke's wedding. A collection of one-shots between Sam and Peyton, Victoria, Haley, Julian, and Brooke. Please R&R Complete
1. Peyton

"Lucas we are going to be late." Peyton panted dashing up the steps to the large dark wooden doors of the church.

"We still have some time." Lucas reassured her. "Besides she doesn't even think we are coming anyway. She will just be happy to see you."

"A man after my own heart." Said a playful, and familiar voice behind her. "Keep expectations low to avoid disappointment."

Shock and elation flooded through Peyton as she turned to see Sam's smiling face behind her.

"Sam." She cried out pulling her into a tight hug. "I have missed you."

Sam was stiff at first but then relaxed and returned the embrace. "I wasn't expecting that." She said then quietly added. "I sort of assumed you hated me for leaving your BFF with nothing after she gave me everything."

Peyton pulled back to look at Sam, her jaw hanging open. Sam didn't meet her gaze. "I don't even really know how to respond to that, but right now there is no time, so let's go." She said grabbing Sam's hand and dragging her to the doors, while grumbling about how affronted she was that Sam thought she hated her.

Peyton choked with emotion as the three of them walked into the beautiful church. It was filled with people and everything looked immaculate. This was going to be a special day for her Brooke.

"Julian is looking hot." Samantha noted.

Peyton looked to the front of the church where Julian stood in his tuxedo. She couldn't disagree with the girl.

A finely dressed and deathly serious Skillz approached them.

"Do you have a wedding invitation?" he asked in a professional tone.

"Skillz!" Lucas and Peyton exclaimed together ignoring his somber demeanor. Peyton threw her arms around him, and Lucas followed up with a one-armed bro-hug.

"I thought you guys had forgotten all about us." Said Mouth coming up behind Skillz with a broad grin splitting his face.

"Mouth! It is so good to see you. Maybe you can throw on your 70's suit and we can dance again." Peyton teased.

"I was kind of thinking he could be the wedding announcer." Lucas commented. Then putting his fist to his mouth in a mock microphone said. "And it looks like Julian is going in for the kiss. I definitely see tongue, and Brooke is taking that action and giving some tongue of her own."

"I so did not want to hear that." Sam complained.

Lucas quickly hugged his old friend. "Mouth it has been too long since we talked."

"You know I would like to catch up on how my favorite run-aways been but you guys are running late and need to be seated before the bride arrives." Skillz interrupted.

"Well aren't you just a grouch." Peyton grumbled.

"You have no idea." Mouth said. "He was treating Julian like a criminal and he almost didn't let Millie come in. He is taking his security detail way too seriously."

"Hey, I am just going to make sure everything goes perfect for Brooke." Skillz said without showing the slightest shame. "And if she bumps into you guys as she is walking in that will mean it is not perfect so you need to sit down."

Then scanning the crowded church he said. "There is a spot in the middle over there."

Peyton looked to where he was pointing and was a little disappointed that it was not near anyone she knew.

"Hey, all you people in this row, stand up so our late guests can get in." Skillz said forcing half of the guests seated in the pew to their feet.

A red-faced Peyton pulled Sam behind her while Lucas took the back of their line, as they walked to the pew.

"I'm glad you guys came. Brooke is going to be real happy." Skillz said as they passed him and politely filed by the other guests.

Once they were seated Peyton took some time to look at the guests, most of whom she knew. The sheer volume of people reminded Peyton of the powerful influence B. Davis had on the lives of those around her, especially the girl next to her.

Peyton wrapped her arm around Sam and pulled their heads close together.

"So I hope you know I am kind of pissed that you think I hate you."

"Maybe you could beat me until my morale improves." Sam suggested.

"Don't get smart with me little girl." Peyton warned, unable to keep her lips from splitting into a grin. "I have a mean right hook."

"Yeah." Sam whispered back. "Brooke told me about that."

"She told you about the sex tape?" Peyton shrieked in disbelief; drawing scandalous frowns from many of the people near her and a smirk from Lucas.

"Well, no she just said you gave her a black eye because of boy issues, but thanks for telling me about a sex tape. That will be awesome to bring up to Brooke."

Peyton felt her eyes bulging out of her head. "Don't you dare!" She warned. "Anyway, it's not like Brooke strictly limits herself to verbal communications."

"She never hit me." Sam smugly pointed out.

"Oh but she wanted to so bad." Peyton countered.

"And there were so many times I would have totally deserved it." Sam snickered.

"Like the time you ruined my wedding dress?" Peyton asked.

"Well that technically wasn't me. It was a lot of other misguided teenagers."

Peyton leveled her best 'don't sell me your crap 'cause I'm not buying it' look at Sam.

Sam looked down at her feet and blushed. "Misguided teenagers with lots of alcohol and spray paint…that I may have invited into her store."

"You're getting me off topic." Peyton said. "How could you think I hated you? We had so many…I don't know… warm moments."

"We did?" Sam asked.

"Are you trying to make me cry?" Peyton scolded. "Of course we did, the back stage time at the Angels and Airwaves concert, the time I gave you the breakfast in bed idea after we 'borrowed' Brooke's parenting book from her, the time we tricked Brooke into thinking she had toilet paper hanging out of her pants the whole day in the park."

Sam noisily choked down a laugh. "That was funny."

Peyton continued over her. "and when I tried to convince you that Brooke didn't really think you were broken, and don't you remember when you came over to my house to keep me company because you found out I was going stir crazy?"

"Oh yeah, the stir crazy moment. That was the first time I realized someone could have worse bed head than me. By-the-way congrats on getting your hot pre-mom waistline back." Sam joked.

Laying her head on Peyton's shoulder Sam said. "That day probably would have qualified as a 'warm moment' if you hadn't threatened to pee on me."

Peyton grinned and pressed her cheek against Sam's crown. "It was a warning not a threat."

Then in whispered tone, too soft for anyone to hear reflected back on that moment saying "You did make that day much better for me."

_"Now that I am all fat and matronly nobody wants to hang out with me." Peyton glumly complained to the four walls surrounding her, throwing another paper airplane out the door. _

_"Oh I got some good distance out of that one." She squealed. The joy, however, was short-lived._

_The chime of the doorbell distracted Peyton from her bored depression._

_"Come in!" She yelled not wanting to get out of bed._

_After a half a minute of not hearing anything she groaned and lifted herself off the bed._

_"I said come in!" She yelled as she walked out of her bedroom and gasped when she bumped into Samantha._

_"You scared me." Peyton said._

_The teen had a bag full of what looked to be junk food._

_"Hello to you too." Samantha scoffed._

_"Oh. Hi Samantha." Peyton said a bit bewildered as to why Sam was visiting, but glad to see her none-the-less. "What's up skater girl?"_

_"Nothing much emo cheerleader girl." Sam shot back. Then looking down at the paper airplane cemetery on the floor said. "You thinking of starting a career as an aeronautical engineer?"_

_Peyton smiled. She always liked Sam. "Why did you decide to grace me with your presence?" She asked._

_"I heard you were going crazy and I wanted to watch." Sam answered back._

_Peyton blushed. "I am not going crazy!" She defended._

_"The monster bed head says otherwise." Sam disputed._

_"Well why don't we go to the kitchen so I can get a knife? That should make my tumble into craziness more interesting for you to watch."_

_"Fun, but I was thinking along the lines of watching some movies and eating junk food." Sam said presenting her bag to Peyton._

_Peyton flushed with newfound love for the girl. Someone wants to be with me! Then answered saying "Movies yes, junk food no. I am already fat enough." _

_"Please you will lose like twelve pounds when you deliver, and I promise you won't gain more than six with me tonight." Sam justified. "Then again, it's not like I care; I mean it just means more candy for me."_

_"What movies you got?"_

_"Well, not a lot. I have While You Were Sleeping because I figured you could identify with it, you know, with all the high school comas. In fact, you are due for another one anytime now; Then we have Hire Education cause I figured it might be fun to reminisce about the time you were shot during school, and finally Tommy Boy, because I find fat people wickedly funny."_

_"Don't make fun of fat people until I get skinny again." Peyton pouted._

_Peyton was shocked to find Sam's arms wrapped around her shoulders. "You're not fat. You're pregnant." Sam said. She quickly released Peyton and looked down uncomfortably at her bag. _

_"Oh did Sammy forget that she is too cool to hug me?" Peyton sarcastically sympathized caressing her face with her hand._

_Samantha blushed furiously. "So I vote for Tommy Boy." She said moving past Peyton into the living room._

_"What if I want to watch something else?" Peyton asked following her._

_"Crazy people aren't allowed to vote."_

_"Neither are 15 year old girls."_

_"Fine." Sam relented "What do you want to watch?"_

_"Tommy Boy." Peyton answered turning the TV on. "Because I find fat people wickedly funny."_

_"Brat." Sam said._

_Peyton smiled_

_"So anyway, I am going to throw some popcorn in the microwave." Sam announced pulling two packages of Orville Redenbacher's packets out of her bag of treats, before throwing it on the couch. "Try to save some Milk Duds for me." She said as she walked to the kitchen._

_Peyton started the DVD and sat down on the couch. She sifted through Sam's bag of treats while she waited for Sam to return._

_"Oh Hershey Kisses." She said. "What woman can say no to chocolate?"_

_Seven kisses later Sam appeared with a big bowl of popcorn. Peyton quickly swallowed the rest of the chocolate bliss and pushed the wrappers between the couch cushion._

_"Oh good you're back." She said pointing the remote to the TV and pushing play. "Now we can get the movie started."_

_Sam flashed her an 'I know you just oinked out' look but sat down next to her without saying anything._

_Peyton flinched and yelped when the baby did a judo kick on her bladder. That's gonna leave a wet spot._

_Sam giggled and looked down at her belly. "What's it like to have something living in you. I mean do you ever freak out that it is going to go all 'Aliens' on you?"_

_"Someone living in me." Peyton corrected with a laugh. Then in a more somber tone "It's quite beautiful actually."_

_Peyton pushed Sam's hair behind her ear before turning back to the movie, she laughed when Tommy got M&M's in the car's heater vent. Peyton looked over to Sam when she noticed the girl was eerily silent._

_Sam was still staring down at Peyton's belly._

_"Do you want to feel it?" Peyton asked._

_"Uh. No. No. I was just thinking about…uh what candy I want." She said hurriedly grabbing the goodie bag and shuffling through it._

_Peyton gently, but firmly took the girl's hand away from the bag and put it on her belly. "The baby is moving. Can you feel her?"_

_Sam shook her head so Peyton pressed harder. A moment later the baby did a monster kick making both of them jump and shriek._

_"That was cool." Sam laughed, a radiant smile gracing her face. _

_"Way cool." Peyton said returning the smile. Then in a soft sincere voice said. "Thanks so much for being with me Sam. You have no idea how lonely I was getting."_

_"No problem." Sam blushed, breaking eye contact._

_"How did you even know about my distressed state of mind?" Peyton asked. Suddenly very curious._

_"I could tell you but then I'd have to kill you."_

_"Don't give me cheesy lines from Top Gun." Peyton said. "Brooke made me watch the volley ball scene at least a hundred times."_

_"Really." Sam asked. "Let me file that away in my good torture material library." Sam pointed to her head. "Beep. All done. Now I just have to think of the best way I can use that knowledge to maximize annoyance for Brooke"_

_"Demon child." Peyton said cupping Sam's face in her hand, and stroking her cheek with her thumb. "So tell me."_

_"Tell you what." Sam teased._

_"Don't be coy with me girly." Peyton demanded. "Tell me how you knew to come here."_

_"I just knew." She said then turning to the TV said. "We are missing the movie."_

_"We've both watched the movie half a dozen times, I can act the fat parts out for you later, tell me how you knew about my cabin fever. Tell me now!"_

_Sam rolled her eyes. "Lucas called Brooke, but she had a big corporate meeting about a new line of clothes so she asked me to go."_

_"So since my husband and best friend didn't want to hang out with me they sent you to jump on the grenade."_

_"At least they cared enough to delegate the dismal duty." Sam teased._

_Then more quietly. "Besides I was kind of excited to come. I-I kind of like talking to you."_

_Peyton moved her hand to Sam's cheek and gently guided Sam's eyes to hers. "Well, I am glad you kind of like talking to me, because I like talking to you a lot."_

_Sam smiled then launched forward gripping Peyton in a tight hug and whispered. "Brooke loves you a lot you know."_

_Peyton grinned. "I have no problem understanding that the wonderful B. Davis loves me. Unfortunately, that is a problem you do have."_

_"I'm getting better." Sam said softly pushing away. "I mean how do you not feel love from someone after they rescue you from a psycho AND give up TWO potential boyfriends for you. Owen I didn't really care a whole ton, but I am still kind of ticked off about Julian. It's confusing feeling anger for someone you love so much." Sam confided._

_"Get used to it." Peyton said. "You tend to hate the people you love the most."_

_"Well I have reached my final conclusion about your sanity for the report Brooke wants me to deliver."_

_"She asked you to deliver a report?"_

_Sam nodded with devilish delight, her lips parting in a massive grin. "Her actual words as she was headed out the door were; and I quote 'I need you to report on whether or not I am going to need to buy Peyton a strait jacket. And give her lots of chocolate to keep her from hurting anyone'. End quote"_

_"You know, they usually say you shouldn't beat the messenger, but you got just a little bit too much joy from delivering that message." Peyton said. "So you are going to 'report' to Brooke that I am completely sane I assume." She asked._

_"Oh no, I am going to tell her to start strait jacket shopping. And I will also mention how well the kisses worked. How many did you eat while I was making popcorn?"_

_"Sure make fun of the fat girl's eating habits."_

_"I told you you're not fat. In fact, you are one fine pregnant woman." Sam said. _

_"That sounds like a line from a movie about women in prison." Peyton mumbled_

_"Huh?" _

_"I said watch the movie." Peyton ordered looking to the TV_

_Later Peyton exploded with laughter when Tommy Boy blamed the car's broken door on its hapless owner. Once again Sam's silence drew Peyton away from the movie. She turned to see Sam, once again, staring quietly at her belly._

_"Are you okay honey?" She asked._

_"Yeah." Sam lied._

_Peyton took a deep breath and ran her hands over face. She loved Sam, but it really annoyed her when the child put up emotional walls. _

_"Let me rephrase that question." She said. "Sam what is the matter? And don't lie to me this time or I will spank you."_

_"That sounds like a line from a movie about women in prison." Sam said._

_"Don't change the topic Sam. Something about my belly is giving you issues. I hope you're not pregnant, but if you are it is better to find out now."_

_"No. I'm not pregnant, psycho. BTW I am putting that paranoid baseless accusation in my report."_

_"Sam, I am tired of fishing for the problem, just tell me."_

_"Do you feel anything for the baby yet?" Sam asked "I mean it's not like you have seen it or held it."_

_"Seen HER or held HER." Peyton corrected. "And of course I feel something for the baby. She is mine. I created her, she belongs to me. I love her."_

_"Do you feel that because you're special or because the baby is?" Sam's voice was starting to crack. Peyton was getting close to some hurt, and she was going to find out what it was and fix it._

_"There is nothing really special about me. I think it is all her." Peyton smiled as she reached up to push Sam's hair behind her ear._

_Sam's face crumbled and tears misted in her eyes, but she didn't cry. "Well." She said in a distant cool tone as she turned her face to the TV. "I finally understand."_

_Sam's problem suddenly became clear. Shame consumed Peyton. How could she have been so stupid? She was adopted herself, why didn't she ever talk with her about it. Stupid. Stupid. Stupid._

_Peyton took immediate corrective action. She had to fix this. Reaching for the remote she turned off the TV. _

_"Why did you do that?" Sam complained._

_Peyton ignored her protest and gently grabbing her by the shoulders so the two were facing each other said. "Look, you and I were both adopted. My adopted parents loved me as their own, and hopefully you know Brooke loves you." _

_Peyton stared the troubled teen down, waiting for a response. After half a minute of silence she tried again. "I said hopefully you know Brooke loves you. And now you are supposed to respond by saying. Yes I do know she loves me more than life itself."_

_Sam remained silent until Peyton fired her an impatient glare._

_"Fine!" Sam said. "I know Brooke loves me. Are you through yet?"_

_"No." Peyton said. "Knowing you are lovable was just step one. Step next is understanding your biological mother."_

_"I don't need to understand her. She gave up on me. She can go to hell!"_

_"Do not pass judgment on her until you know her story." Peyton told her. "You have no idea what she went through giving you up."_

_"Neither do you." Sam shot back as she rose to leave._

_"Um Excuse me, Rude Wonder. I am talking to you. Where in the hell do you think you are going?" Peyton asked._

_"I have to be somewhere else." Sam shamelessly lied._

_"No." Peyton said pulling her back down. "You need to be right here."_

_Then in a calmer tone she continued. "You are right Sam. Neither one of us knows what your mother was thinking when she gave you up. But I can tell you from experience that mothers love their babies."_

_"Just the special babies." Sam disputed._

_"Stop it Sam! Stop holding in hate for someone you do not even know. That is as stupid as eating poison and hoping she dies." _

_Sam's eyes glazed over as she stared past Peyton. Peyton needed to mix things up if she was going to get passed the stubborn girl's self-destructive defenses._

_Peyton tenderly pulled Sam closer to her, at first she resisted but Peyton eventually coaxed the teen to rest her head on her shoulder. Sam cried openly now._

_"Don't you think I know it's stupid to hate her? I know she doesn't even know me let alone care if I hate her, but I can't stop. I think about all the mean things I will say to her when I am successful and then I realize I am never going to be successful. If I talked to her now she would just be glad she dumped me."_

_"Sam, please listen to me?" Peyton pleaded. Then she waited._

_After a minute or so of silence Sam turned her head so her other ear rested on Peyton's shoulder she faced her neck. "What?" She asked irritably._

_"Are you listening?" Peyton asked patiently._

_"Yes!" Sam snapped._

_"Good." Peyton said ignoring Sam's 'tude for now._

_"Every pregnant mother I have ever known, myself included loves her baby. So do you think it might be possible that your mother loved you?"_

_"She gave me up?" Sam said. "So that kind of blows your happy theory out of the water." _

_"So all mothers that give their children up for adoption do it because they do not love them?" Peyton asked._

_"As far as I am concerned they do?"_

_"My birth mother loved me?" Peyton said. Emotion cracked her voice._

_Silence hung thick in the air until Sam said. "I'm sorry Peyton. I just don't know what to feel."_

_"Do you want to feel something different?" Peyton asked._

_"Yes." Sam acknowledged breaking down into a silent trembling cry while she clung to Peyton. _

_"Sam first of all your mother actually gave you life. She delivered you rather than aborting you. So at worst she did not totally give up on you. That should count for something. And if your mother loved you even close to as much as I love my daughter, it would have been terribly hard for her to give you up. So why would she give you up if she loved you?"_

_"I don't know." Sam sniffled._

_"Think about it." Peyton urged. "You do not have to think of an answer right away."_

_After a couple minutes Sam spoke up again._

_"She is not very much older than me, heck she may not have been much older than me when she had me." Sam offered._

_"Okay." Peyton said affectionately rubbing Sam's back. Peyton was getting close to a breakthrough. The knowledge both excited and frightened her. She couldn't say the wrong thing. Just best to let Sam do all the talking. Sam would come to the truth by herself._

_"So I answered your question." Sam muttered. "Are you just going to leave me hangin'?"_

_Peyton bent her head down and kissed the grumpy girl's forehead. "You brought up a very good point, and you need to apply that knowledge to the answer you still haven't given me."_

_"What was the question?" Sam asked._

_"Are you serious?" Peyton huffed._

_"What?" Sam whined. "It has been a long time since you asked."_

_It was no wonder Brooke wanted to kill her beautiful daughter most days._

_"Ok Sam focus, I am about to ask the question again. Why would your mother give you up if she loved you?"_

_"I don't know." Sam said._

_Peyton continued stroking Sam's back. "That's okay. I can wait."_

_Sam's silent showdown continued over ten minutes as Peyton continuously ran her fingers over Sam's forehead and down her back. Sam adjusted herself so she was laying on Peyton's lap rather than her shoulder. Peyton knew Sam was testing her, and while Peyton truly enjoyed this special time with Sam her ever-shrinking bladder was getting hard to ignore. She did not know how much longer she would be able to hold out but, she wasn't going to get up until the last possible second._

_Finally Sam spoke again. "I guess if I was pregnant now and I didn't have Brooke, and you, and Haley I would not really be able to take care of a baby. I mean it's not like I could be a dad or save for a college education. Maybe…" Sam wiped a tear away before laying her hand back down on Peyton's leg and continuing. "Maybe she just loved me so much that she couldn't stand the thought of not being able to give me a fair shot at life. Maybe rather than giving up on me she was just giving me all the stuff she couldn't."_

_Relief washed over Peyton. Sam got it, and since the answer came from her lips she would never forget._

_"Yes, Sam that is another very real possibility. So what do you say you put your feelings for her on hold until you get her side of the story? Personally, I believe she thinks about you a lot."_

_"You really think so?" Sam asked._

_"Of course I do honey." Peyton said as she lovingly cleared a couple of tears off Sam's cheek. "Now get up before I pee on you."_

"There's Haley." Sam exclaimed, forcing Peyton from her thoughts.

Peyton turned her head to see her beautiful and very pregnant friend walking down the isle.

_We could have walked down together if I would have decided there was no way I was going to miss my best friend's wedding a little bit sooner. _Peyton glumly reflected.

"She was my best teacher." Sam whispered to her.

Brooke walked in next. She was stunning.

Everyone rose.

Brooke's hair, a little bit lighter now, was done up and decorated with white pearls. Her dazzling face glowed with happiness. Tears sprang to Peyton's eyes. Her Brooke deserved this moment. She never thought when she first met Julian that he would deliver it to her, but she knew he was a good man. Anyone that made Brooke this happy was an angel in her book.

Peyton was a bit surprised to see Victoria walking her daughter down the aisle. _Her damn father must have ditched her! What an as-_

"Oh Peyton, look how happy she is. She looks so pretty." Sam cried wiping her eyes.

"She is." Peyton agreed giving the girl's hand a gentle squeeze.

_Well at least Bitchtoria was here for Brooke. _Peyton thought.

It was actually becoming more difficult to hate Brooke's mother. She used to be synonymous with Satan, or at least his sister, in Peyton's mind but now it was different. She was still evil at her core but her moments of humanity were becoming more frequent.


	2. Haley

**HALEY**

Haley's heart felt full to nearly bursting as she watched Brooke and Julian glide out of the gauntlet of cheering guests as the wedding music chimed.

"Mom." Jamie said. "I see Aunt Peyton and Uncle Lucas, and I think I see Sam too."

Haley looked to where her son pointed. Sure enough they were there. Peyton graced her with a big smile and waved. Excitement coursed through her frame, forcing her feet to speed walk to her friends. Peyton's group also rushed to her. Haley noted Peyton and Lucas hadn't changed very much at all. They still qualified as one of America's most beautiful couples.

Peyton crashed into her high school friend wrapping her in a crushing bear hug. Lucas joined in making it a joyful group hug. Haley had missed them so much.

"Uncle Lucas Aunt Peyton." Jamie called as he jumped into Lucas' arms.

"Wow!" Lucas said as Jamie pushed him backwards. "You are not little anymore."

"Yeah kids do that. It isn't so shocking when you come back to visit every once in a while." Jamie chided. Then he moved onto Peyton, wrapping his small arms around her back. "Hi Aunt Peyton." He beamed. "I bet you missed me a ton."

Peyton laughed. "I see you have not lost your cuteness. And I did miss you."

"I didn't think you guys were coming." Said a surprised, but very happy Nathan appearing behind his half-brother and sister-in-law; giving each of them a quick hug.

"We just got to thinking how could we possibly miss Brooke's wedding." Lucas explained.

"You mean you decided we had to go if I was ever going to stop crying?" Peyton corrected.

"That's not fair." Lucas said. "You know I wanted to go too. I love our Tree Hill gang as much as you do"

"I know you did." Peyton admitted rubbing her husband's back. "I was just giving you crap."

"Anyway," Lucas continued. "Sawyer is still sick, but my mother is watching her."

"Are you Sam?" Jamie asked turning to Sam.

"Yeah." Sam smiled. "The one and only."

"You look different. Prettier." Jamie observed.

"Thanks little man. You look hotter too. I think I have to wait a couple more years before I can start dating you though." Sam joked.

Jamie was right. Sam still had long thick hair and mischievous smile, but she had moved elegantly into womanhood.

"I wouldn't mind if you started dating him now." Nathan said earning a light slap on the arm from Haley.

"Jamie isn't allowed to date family" Haley said pulling a slightly shy Sam into her arms.

"I didn't know you were pregnant." Sam said tactlessly trying to make small talk.

"Yeah, I am. Does that scare you; because you seem really stiff?" Haley observed, playfully shaking the young woman in her arms.

"She thinks you hate her." Peyton stated matter-of-factly.

"Be quiet Peyton." Sam whispered.

"Why would you think that?" Asked an astonished Haley. "I always loved you."

"It's because she left. She thinks we are all so shallow that we would hate her because she went to live with her birth mother." Peyton answered for Sam.

"That's terrible!" Haley exclaimed.

"I know it is." Peyton agreed. "She did tell me you were her best teacher though."

"Well, I guess I can forgive her." Haley said still holding the horrifically embarrassed girl in her arms. "She was one of my favorite students."

Sam's face burned bright red. "Am I allowed to talk yet?" She asked.

"Only if it is to say you are a silly girl and you know we love you." Peyton answered

"Fine." Sam said. "I know you love me."

"How do you know that Sam?" Haley asked. She was upset that Sam would think she didn't like her, but it was also fun to tease her.

"I don't know." Sam replied.

"That is her favorite answer." Peyton commented.

"You're telling me." Haley said. "I was her teacher."

"You have to ask her at least twice before she gives you a real answer. If you can't get an answer from her after that you need to issue threats of corporal punishment." Peyton advised.

"Threats of corporal punishment huh?" Haley mused. "That sounds fun, so I hope she doesn't answer the second time I ask."

"Me too." Jamie said. "I like watching people besides me get in trouble."

"I thought we were friends." Huffed a betrayed Sam.

"We are friends. You were the first big kid that hung out with me."

"So how do you know I love you Sam." Haley asked again.

After a quarter of a minute of silence Peyton excitedly asked. "What should we threaten her with?"

"Because you found me for Brooke, and you always cared about me. Like the time I was sad about Jessica Swenson being mean to me, and when you kidnapped me." Sam answered.

"Oh." Haley said pulling Sam closer and pushing back tears. "That makes me so happy!"

Surprisingly, Haley hadn't thought about the kidnapping since Sam left. She smiled as the memory filled her mind.

"_Remember your creative writing assignment is due on Monday, so don't spend your weekend goofing off if you haven't done that yet." Haley announced to her apathetic students as they filed out of the classroom. _

"_Sam can I talk to you for a minute?" She asked right as Sam was about to leave._

_Sam turned and slowly walked toward her._

"_What do you want?" She sullenly asked._

"_I want to cut you up and make a stew out of you." Haley scoffed. "Why are you acting like I am some sort of scary new evil?"_

"_I'm not." Sam quietly disagreed._

_Haley walked around her desk and closed the distance between her and the teen._

"_Am I in trouble or what?" Sam asked impatiently._

"_Maybe." Haley answered. Then softly touching Sam's shoulder said. "Walk with me."_

"_I've gotta catch the bus." Sam said._

"_I will give you a ride." _

"_The bus will be fine." Sam said walking off._

_Haley grabbed her arm. "I insist." Then with a teasing smile said "Besides I know where you live and I am best friends with your mother. So it's impossible to escape."_

"_You gonna be my father now?" Sam mocked._

"_No." Haley said confused. _

"_Good because Brooke wouldn't want me to have one."_

_Haley felt a little torn between concern for the girl and loyalty to her best friend. She knew Brooke was undyingly devoted to Sam, but like Sam, she also doubted Brooke's choice to give up a man willing to be a boyfriend and father. She decided to leave the issue alone for now._

"_I probably wouldn't make a very good father. What I was actually thinking about was being your friend since we are officially off school hours. Just don't expect me to go easy on you when I put my teacher hat back on Monday."_

"_Whatever." Sam said turning and walking out the door._

"_Where are you going?" Haley asked._

"_To your stupid car." She answered snidely "I can't escape. Remember?"_

_Haley had to practically jog to keep up with Samantha as she stormed out of the school to the car._

_Haley hopped in the driver's seat and unlocked the door for Sam._

"_So I would normally ask how you are doing" Haley said pulling out of the parking lot. "but I know you would just say fine. So instead I will say I care about you a lot and I wish you were happy."_

"_Well how 'bout you wish in one hand and-"_

"_Sam!" Haley warned. "Don't make me have to break out Jamie's special mouth soap for you."_

"_You missed the turn." Sam said._

"_We aren't going to your house."_

"_It's Brooke's house." Sam corrected. _

"_That is not fair to Brooke." Haley said as anger burst in her chest. "You know her home is your home."_

"_Whatever." Sam said. "And where are we going? This is kidnapping you know."_

_Haley took two calming breaths to drive her anger out. Brooke would be upset if Haley killed her daughter. _

"_I like the idea of this being a kidnapping, it makes me feel rebellious, and I haven't felt that very many times." Haley said. "But the truth is your mother already knows about this. She told me you have been moping around for over two weeks and you are too angry with her for her to help. So I told her you and I would make dinner for all of us tonight which would give us a chance to talk."_

"_So you seriously think you are going to make me happy with a heart-to-heart dinner time talk." Sam sneered._

"_I know it is pretty pathetic." Haley admitted. "But she was crying, and I always take desperate measures to help her when she cries."_

"_That is pretty pathetic." Sam agreed._

"_What is pathetic Sam?" Haley asked as they pulled into her driveway._

"_What you just said." Sam answered, a bit puzzled._

_Haley turned to face her. "What part Sam? The part about your sadness making her cry or me trying to help my best friend with the most important person in her life."_

_Sam's lip started trembling. "Both!" She angrily seethed leaving the car and walking to Haley's house._

_Haley followed her out. Sam walked fast to avoid her but was stopped by a locked front door._

"_Why is your stupid door locked?" Sam yelled._

"_Nathan and Jamie are having 'man time' in the woods this weekend. I don't expect Nathan to actually last till Sunday but they probably won't be back tonight." Haley said unlocking the door and letting Sam inside._

"_So I'm stuck here with just you?" Sam cried._

_Oh this is going to be a really long night. Haley thought. Then turning to the teen with her brightest smile said. "Just you and I honey."_

"_I guess anything beats being with Brooke." Sam mocked._

_Sam looked just as shocked as Haley felt when she turned and slapped the teen across the face._

"_You hit me!" A watery-eyed astonished Sam accused._

_Pity for the girl flowered in Haley's bosom, but she pushed it aside. Sam needed some tough talk right now._

"_Yeah. Did it hurt?" She asked coldly._

"_Yes. You Bitch!" Sam answered with a sour scowl._

"_Good." Haley said. "And you need to know that your nasty little tongue hurts infinitely worse."_

"_If I hurt you so bad why don't you just leave like everyone else?" Sam pouted._

"_I don't leave because I love you." Haley answered. "But we aren't talking about me. Sure you hurt my feelings sometimes, but I have Nathan and Jamie. Brooke, on-the-other-hand, has you and a mother and father who ignore her to call family." Haley was having a hard time keeping her emotion in check. Tears fell freely down her cheeks now._

_Sam was deathly silent._

"_Some of the things you say cut her to pieces." Haley sobbed. Then wiping her eyes and taking a breath continued. "And don't give me any crap about how she should leave you because you know she can't. She faced down a terrifying psycho and gave up true love for you. So you are the last person that should be hurting her."_

"_Do you think I forgot about that?" Sam screamed, her face inches from Haley's. "The nightmares remind me of the psycho and the broken-hearted Brooke and empty house remind me of Julian!"_

"_Sam." Haley said gently reaching for the girl._

_Sam shook her off. "The psycho; That was my fault and don't think for a second that doesn't weigh on my mind. I have seen the pictures with her black eyes." Sam wept._

"_Then why are you mean to her?" Asked an exasperated Haley._

"_Because something is missing in me!" Sam shouted before crumbling to the floor in a sobbing heap. "I'm broken."_

_Haley knelt down next to her. She slowly ventured to lay her hand on Sam's trembling back only to have Sam flinch away from her touch._

"_Please stay away." Sam begged. "Kindness I don't deserve just makes it worse."_

"_We all hope for and need kindness we don't deserve." Haley said carefully gathering Sam in her arms. Sam went rigid and fought against her._

"_Sam it will all work out, you are surrounded by people who love you and are never going to give up on you." Haley said stubbornly keeping her arms around Sam's shoulders._

_Samantha suddenly switched from struggling against Haley to desperately clinging to her._

"_I didn't want her to give up Julian!" Sam bawled. "I had all of our clothes packed. I told her to go with or without me. Why did she do that? I wanted a daddy and she took that away from me."_

"_I know you wanted a family." Haley said. She held Sam close, rocking her as she soothingly ran her fingers over her hair. "And just between you and me, I am not sure I agree that Brooke made the right decision. What I do know is that she did love him, but she gave that up because she thought it would hurt you to go running after a love that she had only felt for a month. And her willingness to give up something that special should count for something."_

"_I know." Sam wailed. "I hate myself for that. I'm not worth true love, and the worst part is I wanted her to take the plunge so we could be a family. How could she have made such a stupid choice?"_

"_That's your mother you're talking about." Haley warned. "Besides, Brooke is beautiful it's not like no one will ever love her again."_

"_It's the last person that will want both of us." Sam sniffled as she relaxed into Haley's embrace._

"_That's not true." Haley said moving Sam's hair behind her ear and kissing her temple. "Besides, Julian wanted Brooke bad. I would be shocked if he didn't come back."_

"_Brooke did have him pretty whipped." Sam giggled through her tears. "And she's a total prude now so we won't have to worry about her grabbing someone else before he comes back."_

"_And if Brooke does try to get someone else all you have to do is drop a hint of emotional instability and he'll get dropped like a hot-potato."_

"_I never thought about that." Samantha said pulling away from Haley with a teary eyed yet mischievous grin. "I kind of have her wrapped around my pinky don't I?"_

_Haley rolled her eyes. "I've created a monster." She groaned_

_After a few minutes Sam's cries died completely and she started contemplating what kind of things she could manipulate Brooke into giving her. _

"_You are an evil little thing." Haley said poking Sam's side and kissing her cheek. Then she rose and held her hand out to Sam._

"_Come on baby girl. Let's go to the kitchen, we've still got a dinner to cook."_

_Sam grabbed her hand and let Haley help her up._

"_What are you making for me?" Sam asked._

"_WE" Haley said. "are making chicken and rice. You can choose the vegetable. Afterwards Brooke and I will eat ice cream for dessert."_

"_What about me?" Sam squawked._

"_No ice cream for naughty girls." She said as she opened the fridge and pulled out the chicken._

"_I'm not naughty!" Sam argued._

"_Whatever." Haley said flatly._

"_Don't steal my line!" Sam smiled._

"_You are in charge of the rice, boil two cups water with one cup of rice, then simmer for about 20 minutes" Haley said._

"_I know how to make rice." Sam scowled._

"_Good, now do you want peas, carrots, or lima beans."_

"_How 'bout corn?" Sam asked._

"_Not one of the options I gave you but, you are in luck because I have some."_

_Soon the rice was simmering and the chicken baking._

_Sam happily joked about Haley's bad taste in dishes while they set the table._

"_You can eat on the floor with your fingers if you would like." Haley said._

_Sam smiled. "I don't think so tutor mom."_

_Haley shook her head. The child was insufferable. _

"_Has it been hard without Jack?" Haley asked._

"_I'm starting to think you enjoy watching me cry." Sam said frowning at the floor._

"_I'm sorry." Haley apologized. "We don't have to talk about it if you don't want to. It's just that you keep everything buried in you and I want you to know you can talk to me or Peyton or Brooke if something is upsetting you."_

"_I know." Sam said offering a watery smile. "Can we just be happy for right now though?"_

"_Of course we can?" Haley smiled as she reached over to stroke her cheek._

_Haley pulled her hand away when she heard the oven timer go off. "It sounds like it is ready." Haley said excitedly. "You finish setting the table and I will bring out the food."_

"_Don't eat it all." Sam joked._

"_Girl I am going to poison your food if you don't watch it." Haley threatened._

_Once the table was set Haley took a second to admire their work. _

"_Everything looks perfect." Said a raspy voice behind her._

"_Brooke, you scared me." Haley said putting her hand to her chest. "Learn how to ring a doorbell."_

"_Some people ring doorbells. I don't." Brooke joked._

_Brooke looked up at Sam. "So did you enjoy making dinner with Haley?" She asked._

_Sam looked down at her feet._

_Brooke glanced over at Haley who just shrugged._

_Then Sam charged at Brooke and threw her arms around her. "I love you Brooke."_

_Brooke, although completely bewildered, wasn't about to miss out on a free hug. She slid her arms around Sam and pulled her close. "I love you too Sam." She said glancing over to Haley again. Who answered her gaze with another shrug._

"_I'm sorry I hurt you so much." Sam apologized trying not to cry._

"_You don't hurt me honey." Brooke said stroking her hair._

"_Yes I do." Sam said laying her head on her mother's shoulder. "But I know you will never give up on me so I will always have a chance to make it right. I'm going to be worth it someday." She said._

"_You are totally worth it to me." Brooke said pulling Sam tight against her._

"_I know you actually believe that Brooke." Sam snorted "but that is just because you're nuts."_

"_Well." Brooke said. "You have driven me nuts, but I am okay with that."_

_Brooke looked over Sam's shoulder to Haley and mouthed "Thank you."_

_Haley smiled and gave her a thumbs up._


	3. Victoria

**Victoria**

"Mr. Baker, I need your help with a problem." Victoria said to Julian's father.

"What can I do for you?" He asked.

"As you must have noticed, I had to cover for Brooke's deadbeat father for the wedding, but I think we can both agree it would be weird if I did the father daughter dance with her. You are the best choice, will you fill in for him."

Julian's father pensively stared past Victoria. "You know I wasn't the best father to Julian." He confided. Then looking into her eyes said. "I want to be a much better father to him and your daughter. It would be an honor to dance with Brooke. As far as I'm concerned she is a Baker in my book."

"Thank you." Victoria said. A little uncomfortable with how much he had told her. "Brooke will really appreciate that." She added before walking away.

His comment drove home the actuality that B. Davis had been replaced by B. Baker. Victoria liked the ring of B. Davis better for the magazine. B. Baker sounded like something off of _Sesame Street_. Once the company got back on its feet she would somehow have to convince Brooke to keep her professional name as B. Davis without making her think she disliked Julian because he had a blue-collar surname.

Victoria was actually quite surprised by how much she did love her son-in-law. He was the one who motivated her to "play nice" with Brooke. Julian gained a lot of respect the first day they met. He not only displayed good taste in women, but he showed a unique combination of backbone and charisma. He managed to deliver her a sobering reality check without even raising his voice.

Julian was a good asset to have on her team. Almost as importantly he was in love with her daughter. Victoria was pretty certain he wouldn't leave her when she got pregnant. Of course the pre-nuptials she asked him to sign would ensure he got nothing if a hot little tart cured his love sickness over Brooke ten years from now.

He actually signed the pre-nups without too much fuss. The words he said to her that day were burned in her mind forever.

"_I signed those for your peace of mind Victoria." Julian said handing the signed documents to her. "The worst part of marriage to Brooke is the unfortunate truth that it will only last until one of us dies. I wish I could bind her to me forever."_

Not that his signature was necessary. She would have just forged them if he refused, but his actual signature did-

"Hey there hot granny?" called a voice from behind her that she never thought she would hear again. Joy erupted in her chest.

_Samantha has come back!_

Victoria quickly wiped the joyful smile from her face, assuming her cold corporate composure before turning to face the closest thing to a granddaughter she ever had.

"Samantha." Victoria stated hoping the shock at how beautiful the girl looked hadn't shown. She extended her hand to the young woman as she drew near.

"Victoria." Samantha shot back in the same expressionless tone which starkly contrasted her sunny grin. Samantha took Victoria's hand and surprised Victoria by transforming the handshake into a hug.

Victoria uncomfortably returned the hug, not quite sure how to manage the delicate balance between rudeness and weakness. Usually she heavily erred on the side of rudeness, but she actually loved this girl and didn't want to push her away.

One of the prices Victoria paid for emotionally protecting herself from others was a famine of physical contact. The girl's embrace warmed her frigid soul; reminding her of the pain of loneliness she so diligently ignored. How could she have let this girl get away? For the hundredth time she scolded her carelessness in disposing of Rebecca's letters.

Victoria felt her aching sense of loss converting into tears. _Hold it together Bitchtoria, Hold it together. You will not crack. You will not show weakness._ Her self-talk didn't push down the pain, but the tears were gone. She could talk again without fear of vulnerability.

"I am glad to see the baby shower dress still fits you. I still think the green dress looked better though." Victoria said pulling away from Samantha.

"That's just because you have a secret crush on Kermit the Frog." Sam countered.

"So how do you dress when you aren't going to a wedding?"

"Leather miniskirts and skanky half-shirts."

"I'll be sure to send you some old inventory from the store to help compensate for your style handicap."

"That would be great! Just make sure they are skimpy enough to show all my tattoos and piercings."

Victoria allowed the tiniest of smiles to grace her face. "You look lovely Samantha, Brooke will be ecstatic to see you."

"Yeah." Sam said. "I was just kind of hoping you would be too. Seeing as I am on the very short list of people you are nice to."

"I see you are still sassy as ever." Victoria observed. "And just so you know, I have added a couple of new people to that list."

"Satan and Skeletor?"

"Julian and Brooke." Victoria said.

"You were nice to Brooke the whole time I was with you." Samantha reflected.

Victoria almost smiled. She was glad someone had noticed.

"Are you mad at me?" Samantha asked.

The sudden seriousness of Samantha's question threw Victoria off balance, but she recovered quickly. She always recovered. "Why would I be mad at you?"

"Come on Victoria, play straight with me. You know exactly why." Sam said, her confident façade now gone.

"You made Brooke very happy. She-We wanted you to stay…And we never understood why you chose Rebecca over Brooke."

Sam's eyes misted over and she stared at her shoes. Then in a cracked watery voice asked "Does Brooke hate me too?"

Compassion filled Victoria and before she could stop herself she had the girl in her arms. Victoria's serendipitous show of compassion flooded her with shame, compelling her to step away until Sam's arms wrapped around her waist.

"I can't explain why I left." Samantha confessed. "It wasn't because I didn't want to be with Brooke though. It was more like…like I needed to know where I came from to understand who I am. I wanted to keep in better contact, but it just felt so awkward. I mean Brooke gave up everything and opened her heart to me, a-and I-I just walked away, b-b-" Samantha's sobs stopped her from finishing her sentence.

Samantha pushed away from Victoria and took a couple of deep breaths as she wiped her eyes with her palms. Then looking to Victoria said. "Don't think for a second that I didn't love Brooke. I loved you too. I know leaving after she pulled me out of hell was a bitch thing to do, but you need to tell Brooke it was a flaw in my character, it wasn't because of her." And with that Samantha turned and walked for the door.

Victoria's keen awareness of her inadequacy to comfort people nailed her feet to the floor. She could only helplessly watch as the girl fled from her life forever. "Sam please don't go." Victoria whispered.

Peyton moved to intercept Sam about ten feet from the door. She shot Victoria a vicious glare over Sam's shoulder as she held the girl close to her. For the first time in her life Victoria was happy with the backstabbing, parasite Brooke thought of as her best friend.

"What did you say to her?" Peyton angrily spat as Victoria got within earshot.

"I told you she didn't say anything." Sam cried.

"Peyton, no matter how hard life may try to snuff you out, you always manage to crawl back out of the toilet. I was really hoping a coma would work where the two psychos failed." Victoria smiled easily slipping into the cruel and calculated cover she had used to protect herself for so long.

"Bitchtoria, I was really hoping you would get your throat slit by a prison dyke."

"Stop!" Sam yelled silencing the blissful noisy buzz of the reception center and pulling all eyes to the three of them.

"Okay." Peyton whispered as she held Sam's head to her shoulder. Then to Victoria said "In spite of the fact that you are evil redefined I know you actually care about Sam, and Brooke in your own broken way. So let's declare a ceasefire until we convince Sam to stay for Brooke's sake. Then you can crawl back into the lonely bitter pit you've dug for yourself."

Victoria had to admit the parasite was right. Victoria nodded to her then gently said. "Samantha, let's go sit down at the table." She pointed to one of the empty four person tables near the wall. Sam didn't say anything but, she let herself be guided by Peyton. Peyton sat Sam in the chair facing away from the dance floor, taking the adjacent seat for herself. Victoria sat across from Peyton.

Sam stared at her hands. A few long locks of curled hair hung down past her face. The neatly done bun holding up the majority of her hair had become a little frayed from laying on Peyton's shoulder. Sam reminded Victoria of a brunette Cinderella at the ball. She ignored a strange urge to look at her feet to see if she was wearing glass slippers.

"So." Samantha started. "Did anything interesting happen while I was gone?"

"Well as Brooke's blessed mother so kindly pointed out I had yet another near death experience." Peyton answered.

"Oh yeah." Sam said starting to regain her composure. "Another psycho?"

"No, no that is so old hat." Peyton said with a dismissive wave of her hand. "The morbid and sadistic writers of my life chose to give me a coma this time."

"Oh that's right." Sam said "Well I'm glad you woke up."

"Well that makes two people at the table." Peyton said smiling sweetly at Victoria. "Anyway, I can't complain too much because the authors of Brooke's life are way crueler. I'm just glad she finally found true love. I didn't know if she ever would."

"Especially with friends like you." Victoria said in a tone that matched Peyton's sweet smile.

"Oh and I forgot to mention Victoria vacationed in prison for a while." Peyton said happily.

Victoria's response was interrupted by applause and cheers.

Brooke and Julian had arrived.


	4. Julian

**Julian**

"So how are my dad's dancing skills?" Julian asked grabbing his lovely new wife as they left the dance floor. The realization that Brooke was his wife electrified him.

"Wonderful. I can see where you get your fancy footwork." Brooke grinned.

"Actually, that was a gift from my mother." Julian said. "And I assume since you're not bursting out of your seams with girlish glee you did not see who I saw."

"What do you mean?" Brooke asked with puzzled excitement on her face.

"Oh just an unexpected guest." Julian said dismissively.

"My dad finally made it?" Brooke asked scanning the crowd. Julian couldn't quite tell whether Brooke was happy or pissed off about that possibility. _Probably both_.

"Wrong." Julian said. "If you tell me you love me I'll give you another hint."

Brooke shot him a scolding but intensely beautiful glare before moving in to kiss him.

"You don't need to bribe me to say I love- Peyton!" Brooke exclaimed just as their lips were about to touch.

"Oh Julian! It's Peyton she came! It's Peyton!" Brooke squealed dashing around him toward her childhood friend.

"I came so close to getting her to say it." Julian mumbled to himself while shaking his head as he watched his bride burst over to her childhood friend.

Julian was actually pretty glad to see Peyton, their romance didn't work out at all but, he did get the chance to discover she was a good person. All things being considered, however, he still wasn't so excited he was willing to erupt into a squealing run to meet her. He chose a brisk walking pace instead.

Peyton waved her fingers at Brooke. Although he could only see the back of Brooke's head he was certain she had an ear to ear grin matching Peyton's. Peyton stood up and opened her arms just before Brooke crashed into her.

Julian heard tearful laughter as he neared them. Laughing and crying at the same time was something he was certain was unique to women. Just one more reason he loved them.

"Thank you so much for coming." Brooke said pulling back from Peyton so she could look into her eyes.

Then laying her head back down on Peyton's shoulder Brooke said. "I wish I would have known you were coming though. I would have made you and Haley both bow and scrape to my every Bridezilla command today."

"Don't worry Brooke." Peyton said resting her cheek on Brooke's head. "I have already cried about that today. It was so stupid of me to think that I would let anything get in the way of going to my best friend's wedding."

"Peyton, Haley has already messed up my mascara twice today. Say something happy."

"Uh. I love you forever." Peyton offered.

Brooke burst into tears. "I meant happy funny you dork." She cried into Peyton's shoulder.

"You know I was always rooting for you right?" Came a conspiratory whisper beside him.

The recognition of the teasing voice constricted his throat and sped his heartbeat.

_Sam._

He turned to face her. He hadn't even recognized her from the back. Part of that was because he was focused on Peyton. Mostly, however, it was because she looked so graceful. She wore an expensive COB dress. Her hair was gathered in a stylish bun, with two long dark locks hanging in the front. He had never seen her with anything but casual clothes and free-falling hair.

"Sam." He croaked through nearly shed tears.

"Yup." She said.

Then to fill the silence of Julian's inability to speak she continued lazily pointing her hand to her first mother

"You know the way those two gush over each other you might be able to live the dream every man desires but few actually get."

Julian was pretty sure he could stop himself from crying if he just stayed quiet, but he didn't want to seem rude. So he did the only logical thing.

He quickly wrapped his arms around Samantha's shoulders. Sam returned the embrace after a beat. Julian counted two mississippi's in his head before daring to speak.

"You mean the dream of being married to a beautiful woman who lives in the same town as her best friend, so we can always get free babysitting."

"Yeah." Sam snorted into his chest. "That dream."

Julian took a step back from Samantha neither able nor desirous to hold back the massive smile splitting his face. "Then let's hope we can convince Peyton to move back to Tree Hill."

"Oh yeah." Peyton said to Brooke who was still nestled on her shoulder. "I neglected to mention another special guest because I knew once I did you would ignore me the rest of the day. Oh and you can kiss your mascara goodbye."

"What do you mean?" Brooke asked lifting her head to look at her friend.

"The girl who never learned it's not okay to run away came by." Peyton said leveling a glare at Sam. "Oh and she thinks you hate her. So fix that." Peyton quickly added.

Brooke turned around. Gaping jawed astonishment replaced the radiant smile on her face when she saw Sam.

Sam looked down at the ground clearly discomforted by Brooke's stare.

"Uh. Hi." Sam said weakly.

Brooke's face flushed as tears poured freely down her cheeks. Her mouth worked to say something but nothing came out.

Peyton broke the half minute of awkward silence.

"Brooke, I wasn't kidding about the running away or thinking you hate her. You kind of need to say something to her babe."

"Be quiet Peyton." Sam ordered in hushed but intense tone.

"Sam." Brooke sobbed.

Sam started crying too.

"I'm so sorry for hurting you Brooke." She shuddered. "I didn't want to. I was just so excited when I got the wedding announcement. I knew that I hadn't cost you true love, and I just wanted to see you happy. I'm sorr-."

Brooke interrupted Sam's monologue with a sudden bone-crushing hug.

"Oh, baby I am so glad you came." Brooke hoarsely wept soaking Sam's hair with her tears.

Sam slid her arms around Brooke's shoulder blades.

Sam's white knuckle grip told Julian she wasn't planning on letting go anytime soon. Julian was delighted Sam was sticking around, but he also knew Brooke's feet and legs were killing her.

After waiting a minute for Brooke to re-bond with Sam he said "Take a seat Brooke so we can talk to our long-lost friends." He offered her the seat vacated by Sam.

"Thanks Julian." Brooke sniffed and smiled. "My feet feel like they are going to fall off."

Sam disentangled herself from Brooke but, was unable to pull away because Brooke wouldn't let go of her. Instead she clumsily allowed Brooke to lug her to the chair where they both plopped down with Sam ending up on her lap.

"Sorry dear." Brooke said pulling her arms tightly around Samantha's waist. "But my P. Sawyer tells me you're a runner."

The teary-eyed teen shone with happiness. She twisted her body to face Brooke. Then resting her forehead against Brooke's said. "I'm not running away from you." She planted a kiss on her forehead before wrapping her arms around her neck.

"I know you're not." Brooke smiled. "I won't let you."

Julian moved to sit across from Brooke, but was stopped by Victoria. "Please." She said moving out of her seat adjacent to Brooke. "Sit by your wife."

Before Julian could answer Victoria moved to the seat across from Brooke, leaving Julian to take the seat nearest his wife.

"Was Victoria being nice? Or did that chair have a tack in it?" Peyton asked.

"She has her moments." Brooke said.

Then Brooke blurted out to Sam. "And what is with you anyway? I was nothing but hugs and kisses when you left. How long have you been carrying this guilt baggage?"

"You did leave on good terms with me." Samantha admitted. "But-it's just…I don't know. How could anyone seriously be okay with that? I thought you were faking just to be nice. I mean how could you want to be friends with someone who takes everything and gives nothing?"

"What?" Brooke spluttered gently pushing Sam back and cupping her face in her hands. "How could you think that?"

"I have thought the same thing about you and me Brooke." Peyton said.

"Me too." Victoria dryly chimed in.

"I guess Victoria's moments don't last very long." Peyton wryly observed.

"No but, they are sweet while they last." Brooke said

"She's always been nice to me." Sam stated.

"Anyhow, as I was saying before the rude commentary from the peanut gallery." Peyton said glowering at Victoria. "She has saved me from a rapist, and a killer rapist, devoted countless hours to my wedding dress-you should remember that one Sam" She added with a wink. "and cried with me though two mothers. What has she got from me? Two heartbreaks and a black eye."

"That's not true Peyt." Brooke defended.

"Yeah." Victoria added. "You forgot to mention the wedding dress was made so you could marry the boyfriend you stole from her. And what about all the money you cost her for your record label"

"Stop it Victoria." Brooke warned.

"Bitchtoria is right." Peyton said trying to hide her misted eyes. "She not only saved me from psychos she gave me my dream. My point is Sam. Once Brooke decides she loves you she never stops."

"You've been by my side since we were eight Peyton." Brooke said with soft determination. "There were so many years of my life where you were the only reason I wasn't alone."

Julian saw shame cross Victoria's face, even though he knew Brooke only meant it as a compliment for her friend it cut Victoria like a knife.

"Brooke saved me from a psycho too. He hurt her because of me." Sam somberly noted.

"Don't worry about that honey." Victoria said. "Peyton is right Brooke never stops loving you. I took away the opportunity for Brooke to have a kind mother, and I destroyed the wonderful company she built from the ground up." Victoria's voice cracked, but she roughly shook her head. Julian knew she would not cry in front of them. Crying was weakness and she could not show weakness in front of others. Julian pitied her self-imposed loneliness.

"She still calls me her mother." She continued roughly. Victoria's eyes were filling with tears she would not be able to hide.

"I think the kitchen staff must be cooking something with onions." Victoria said rising from her chair and heading for the kitchen. "I'm going to make sure someone gets fired."

"I love you mother." Brooke called after her.

Victoria stared up at the ceiling as though she were praying her tears would go away. After a few moments she looked to Sam with a smile that did not touch her eyes. "See what I mean Sam. She'll never stop loving you. Avoiding her will only hurt her more. Like Peyton and I, you will have just to learn to be the person that will lift her up and comfort her."

Julian watched as Victoria walked away. Then looked beside him at a heartbroken Brooke and across the table to an astonished and pensive Peyton. _And that was the day Bitchtoria died_. He thought

"So do all of you feel guilty when you look at me?" Brooke asked.

"Yeah." Peyton and Sam answered together.

"I just feel lucky." Julian said with a smile.

"That's not what I want." Brooke said. Her voice quivered with dismay.

"I know I figure if I name six or seven more kids after you one of them might figure out the cure to cancer or something and then we would be almost even."

"Would it help if I bitch slapped you?" Brooke asked.

"Language!" Sam scolded as she wrapped her arms back around Brooke's neck. "Remember your daughter is within earshot."

Brooke held her tighter and started to say something before being interrupted by Tree Hill's biggest heartbreaker.

"Brooke!" Lucas exclaimed leaning down to give her a crowded hug around Sam. "I know Peyton has probably already told you how much we miss you and how terribly happy we are for you, but I just want to say it again."

"Thank you Lucas." Brooke said with a genuine smile. Then quickly asked. "Do I make you feel guilty?"

Lucas looked confused for a moment then said "No. Why did I do something wrong?"

"Oh why couldn't I have been born a man?" Peyton groaned.

"Because then Brooke would have married you, which would have left Lucas and I out in the cold." Julian explained.

"Oh it would be so nice to just worry about sex and food." Brooke said.

"Don't forget sports." Julian added.

"Okay." Lucas said. Now utterly confused. "Did I miss something?"

"Hey Lucas." Julian asked. "How often do you and your brother talk?"

"I don't know." Lucas hesitated. "Once every month or so."

"Do you ever worry that your brother hates you if it has been say three or four months since you've talked?"

"No." Lucas said. "Why would he hate me? That would be dumb."

"Why would that be dumb?" All three women yelled.

Julian laughed as poor Lucas endured the assault.

"Okay, Brooke I just came by to say I am really happy for you and I missed you. And now I am going to go somewhere else." He said before fleeing the crowd of accusatory women.

"Wait." Julian said. "They are just jealous of the superior simplicity of men. It's nothing personal."

"Well I guess I can stay for a while then." He agreed. Then looking sincerely to Julian said.

"Hey, I want to thank you. When I saw how happy Brooke was…I-I- Well it just meant a lot to me as far as my brother and I are concerned you're family. You need something you just give us a call."

Lucas' invitation stripped off the mild contempt Julian had always harbored for Lucas. "I appreciate that." Julian said extending his hand to Lucas.

Lucas took his hand and light-heartedly asked "So do I have to call you every month to make sure you don't think I hate you?"

"Of course not. That's dumb" Julian answered earning a couple of disgruntled snorts from the girls

"So tell me how you got back together after Brooke ditched you." Sam said with humor twinkling her eyes as she rested her cheek against Brooke's head with her arms still slung sloppily around her neck.

"Well." Julian answered "The problem I had before was that I just looked too desperate. I mean Brooke knew she could get me anytime she wanted. So I knew I had to change my woman hunting strategy. The first step was to never call her. Ever. Just give her a Julian famine."

"Whatever!" Brooke countered. "You didn't leave my side once you came back."

Julian ignored Brooke's contrary comments "My real break though came when, my new friend, Lucas sent me a wedding invitation. Thanks for that Lucas." Julian said giving Lucas a high five.

"Oh, the fact that you think your little wedding stunt had anything to do with winning my heart is so pathetic." Brooke said.

"So I thought what can I do to let Brooke know there is more than one dish in the world that wants some sweet Julian seasoning to spice up her life." Julian continued still ignoring Brooke.

"What did you do?" Sam excitedly inquired.

"I brought the girl who was cast as high school Brooke for the movie." Julian happily bragged

"Oh that is so awesome." Sam squealed. "I mean a younger prettier version of Brooke. That must have had her foaming at the mouth."

"Hello. I'm here. I can hear you." Brooke complained.

"She was pretty hot." Julian continued. "And the look on Brooke's face when she saw her."

"Priceless." Everyone exclaimed.

"Peyton." Brooke exclaimed. "Can you hear me? I think someone put one of those little midget invisibility rings from Lord of the Rings on me… But one that blocks out sound too. Peyton? I can see you. Can you hear the words that are coming out of my mouth?"

"Yep." Julian gloated putting his hands behind his head. "It was all pretty much a downhill coast from there."

"You forgot to mention Nick Lachey darling." Brooke innocently pointed out.

"98 degrees Nick Lachey?" Sam asked looking down at Brooke.

"Oh it appears Nick Lachey is the magical word to break the invisibility slash deaf or mute spell." Brooke said.

"Okay where does Nick Lachey play into this, and how come he was not mentioned sooner?" Sam asked.

"Well." Brooke explained obviously relishing her victory march back into the spotlight. "I had to show Julian that this dish wasn't limited to just one type of seasoning."

"Wait my mother dated Nick Lachay? I had no idea you had that kind of spark and sizzle left in you." Sam said smiling down on Brooke.

"You'd be surprised what I can do." Brooke boasted

"So now that he is done with you is he single again? I'm legal now." Sam said.

"You can't date someone your mother has dated." Brooke scoffed.

"Julian didn't leave totally empty-handed though." Peyton teased. "Nick left him with a black eye."

"Which eye?" Sam asked.

"The right." Julian humbly admitted.

Sam lifted her arms off of Brooke and touched Julian's right eye.

Closing her eyes she said. "Oh I think I can still feel his essence."

Chuckles erupted from the friends around her.

"Of course." Sam added. "The romantic essence of Nick Lachay mixed with first dad is kind of creepy."

"First dad?" Brooke asked.

"Did you forget?" Sam asked him a little hurt.

"No…No I'll never forget." Julian answered with a quiet intensity. Then lowering his eyes whispered "That was special to me."

_Julian had always dealt with and managed disappointment very efficiently. He had adapted to his father's endless criticism by disassociating himself with the shame of failure. This helped Julian shoot for the best. _

_His success in life was more attributable to not letting the fear of failure stop him than brains or looks. Having the producers pull support from the movie was a disappointment, but Julian already had a game plan for other projects._

_Looking at the two plane tickets he held over the garbage can was more than a disappointment. It was a soul-crushing defeat. Shooting for the best this time had cost him his heart. And wasn't sure he even wanted to get back up. _

_He hesitated to drop the tickets._

_Brooke Davis was not an option anymore._

_Julian didn't consider options he didn't have._

_He dropped the tickets and any hope of life with Brooke._

_He handed his own ticket to the attendant and started for the entry way after she returned his stub._

_The understanding that he would never see Brooke Davis again stopped his feet. His heart ignored his mind's warning to cut his losses and run as he slowly turned to get one last glimpse of the beauty he could never have._

_Julian stopped his body from turning completely but could not keep his head from snapping back and getting one last fleeting glimpse of a tearful Brooke. _

_This would be a terrible movie! He thought forcing himself to walk toward the plane._

_Thankfully the plane was almost empty. Julian chose a seat hidden in the back corner. As he sat down jagged grief tore through every part of his being forcing his chest to heave as a hoarse sob escaped his throat. _

_Julian fought for control._

_More involuntary spasms wracked his frame. Choked cries slipped through clenched teeth._

_Julian sneaked a glance over the chair to make sure no one could hear him._

_Julian was able to draw a couple of deep breaths as he brushed his wet cheeks._

_Stifle it Julian! Come on stay in control. You can do this. He thought to himself. He started to turn the tide of the battle._

_His phone started to ring. He wiped his eyes one more time before looking to see who called._

"_Sammy?" He croaked._

_The desire to take the call helped him push his pain down. _

"_Hello hello hello hello." He said making sure his voice would be composed before actually answering._

_Then putting the phone to his ear cheerfully said. "Hello Sammy."_

"_Please tell me you convinced Brooke to go with you." Said the distressed voice on the other line._

"_No. It looks like Disneyland and ditching school to go to the beach are not in your immediate future." Julian said trying his best to maintain his cheery facade._

"_Dammit. Damn her!" Samantha swore. "She's trying to blame this on me, but I had our stuff packed. I told her I wanted to go. I even told her I was willing to stay if she went by herself. I cannot understand why she passed this up."_

"_It's not your fault Sam. It's okay." Julian said softly._

"_Oh I know it's not my fault. This is Brooke's fault because she is too stupid to be happy. She slaps happiness in the face until it goes home crying. What the hell is wrong with the psychotic prude bi-"_

"_Whoa Sammy. Slow down. Let's not forget that both of us still love Brooke and she loves you. She's willing to give up me for you."_

"_So this is actually my fault." Sam said_

_Julian scorned his thoughtless comment. "That's not what I meant. It's nobody's fault. The timing just wasn't right."_

"_We could have been a family!" Samantha cried._

_The anguish of their mutual loss pierced Julian's emotional defenses. He covered the phone while he struggled to regain his poise._

"_Sam." He said after a moment. "I wanted that bad. I still do want it. But right now that can't happen."_

"_It's not fair." She moaned_

"_I know it's not; But we can't throw away what we have because of what we don't have."_

"_We don't have anything." Samantha dismally whined._

"_You have a mother who, although somewhat insane, loves you fiercely. And I have two dear friends in podunk North Carolina whom I dearly adore."_

"_Hey watch the podunk comments Hollywood." Samantha wearily laughed._

_Julian laughed too. It felt good._

"_So are you going to be okay? I mean it must be pretty degrading getting dumped at the airport."_

_Julian smiled at the girl's terrible ability to provide comfort._

"_Actually, it was just painful at first, but now I feel humiliated too. Thanks for sprinkling insult over my injury."_

"_Oh. I'm sorry." Samantha said genuinely regretful. "I've kind of devoted most of my energy to sarcasm and rudeness. So I kinda suck at helping people feel better."_

"_That's okay Sam. You're a good girl."_

"_You're the only person who ever wanted to be my dad." Sam wept "I'll never forget you."_

_Julian cried openly "And you're the closest thing to a daughter I ever had. I will never forget you either."_

_They were both silent for a while._

"_So I guess I better go since they don't let you talk while the plane is taking off." Sam said._

"_Thanks for calling Sam. It meant a lot to me."_

"_Sorry about making you feel bad. You don't have anything to be embarrassed about. You can't help it if you're attracted to hot, golden-hearted, emotional prudes."_

"_Don't worry about it Sam. There is no way I would have smiled if you hadn't called. And I really needed to smile."_

"_That's good." Sam said. Julian could hear her grinning on the other end. "So bye."_

"_Goodbye."_

_Julian was about to hang up when he heard Sam's tinny phone voice call out to him. "Julian wait. Julian."_

"_What do you need Sam."_

"_Will you dance with me at my wedding?"_

"_Uhh."_

"_I know it sounds stupid to worry about it now, but at weddings fathers are supposed to dance with their daughters. And I know guys never think about that stuff, but it's kind of a big deal for girls, and I love Brooke and everything, but I don't want to dance with her at my wedding."_

"_That would be an honor Sam."_

"Julian, Julian." Skillz said pulling him back to the present. "You need to get ready for the wedding toasts. We're going to need you and Brooke up at the front table."

"Skillz, I need you to arrange a five minute detour." Julian said

"I don't like detours." Skillz warned

Julian stood and quietly whispered his plan to Skillz.

Skillz stepped back with a smile. "Alright. I can arrange that."

"What are you planning?" Brooke asked tenderly lifting Sam off of her to stand.

"Yeah what's up?" Everyone chimed in.

Julian just smiled at them.

Their question was shortly answered by Skillz's voice booming over the speakers.

"Ladies and gentlemen our new groom has requested a father-daughter dance. So all you fathers get out there and dance with your daughters."

"Sam." Julian said holding out his hand. "Would you do me the honor?"

"Oh Julian, I think you might be perfect." Brooke cried nudging Sam forward. "Except for the things about you that aren't, which are adorable making you even more perfect."

Sam's face was bright red. Julian worried that he may have gone too far.

"It's okay Sam." He said "You don't ha-"

Sam threw herself onto him. "Thank you." She whispered

He put his arm around Sam's shoulder as they walked to the dance floor. Natalie and Nat King Cole's fine voices permeated the air.

_Unforgettable_. _Skillz had chosen wisely._

"I kind of suck at dancing." Sam confessed.

"That's okay because I am driving. It's easy I will lift my elbow if I want you to go backwards and I will let go with this hand and lift up the other when I want to spin you around." Julian said as he guided her into a spin.

Sam smiled after successfully executing the spin.

"I'm kind of good at this." She said

"A natural star."

"I might step on your toes." Sam warned as they started gliding around the floor.

"Your eighty three pounds is not going to hurt me."

"Try a hundred and three." Sam said

"Not going to even phase me." Julian smugly smiled just before a little foot forcefully stomped on his toe.

"I think a mosquito landed on my toe." Julian joked.

Samantha smirked and laid her head on his chest. "I hope you don't think this gets you out of my wedding dance."

"Of course not." Julian said. "I just figured your tomboy lifestyle wouldn't allow for much dance practice."

"Thank you for this Julian." She said into his shoulder. "I have never had this before."

He rubbed her back while she sniffled and gracefully guided her around the floor.


	5. Brooke

**Sorry for the long delay. School work has been pretty stiff for the last couple weeks. But the story is finally complete. Special thanks for all the suggestions of OTHLVR16 and to the reviews of everyone else. Please R&R**

**Brooke**

Taking advantage of the small gap in the line of people waiting to talk to her Brooke grabbed Julian's wrist and twisted it around so she could see his watch.

"We only have 45 minutes until we leave for the honeymoon." Brooke said disappointedly.

Julian frowned a little. "The honeymoon is kind of the part I was looking forward to most."

Brooke smiled and kissed him on the cheek. "Oh you have good reason to look forward to the honeymoon my wonderful husband, but I still need to wrap some things up here before I turn all your wildest dreams into blissful reality."

He smiled and asked. "Has Peyton completed the interrogation assignment you gave her?"

"It wasn't an interrogation." Brooke scoffed, lightly slapping Julian's arm. "I just asked her to find out some important things from Sam… using whatever means necessary."

"How is that not an interrogation?"

"Because we love her." Brooke groaned. She reached over and slid her hand into his inside pocket to get her phone.

"It's not fair that men get all the pockets." Brooke complained as she opened the phone to text Peyton.

"You're a clothing designer fix that. Design a line of inconvenient men's clothing."

Brooke ignored him as she texted Peyton.

_did u talk 2 her yet_

Less than a minute later Peyton's reply came back.

_yup_

"Julian I gotta go." Brooke said as she stood and arranged her dress. "Run interference for me."

"Since when did you use football metaphors?" Julian asked

"I'm a former cheerleader." Brooke answered. Then drawing his ear to her lips whispered. "I made sure the uniform fit before I packed it."

The crimson flush on Julian's face pricked the corners of her mouth into a smile. "Keep our guests entertained." She ordered patting his cheek before she walked toward the bathroom where she could text without interruption.

Once in the, thankfully clean, bathroom she opened the furthest stall door, put the toilet seat down and sat. Although not particularly fond of hanging out in a public bathroom in her wedding gown she couldn't think of anywhere else to go where she could have more than a minute or two of privacy.

_so whats up with sam_

Peyton responded quickly.

_no boyfriend. waiting until marriage to have sex. i hope that lasts;) job old navy. good grades. favorite class english. hobbies writing soccer & skating_

_is she happy?_

_she misses u alot_

_really=)_

_not u so much as your $_

_shut it. is rebecca nice_

"She seems pretty nice, but like I said Sam misses you a lot."

Brooke's frightened shriek at hearing her friend's voice made Peyton snicker.

"Sorry didn't mean to scare you B." Peyton lied.

"Liar." Brooke said opening the stall and pulling her lifelong friend to the corner of the bathroom. "Okay, so Sam is employed, getting good grades, and exercising. Does all that stuff make our little runaway happy?"

"Yeah." Petyon answered. "I mean she seems really sad that she lost you and Julian, but it was her decision to leave. So it's just-it's just kinda hard to feel bad for her about that."

"Peyton!" Brooke exclaimed with a scowl. "How can you say that? No wonder Sam thinks people here hate her. It's true."

"I love her!" Peyton countered with conviction.

"Then how can you say that?" Brooke asked truly confused. She had no idea Peyton was mad at Sam. Especially since Peyton had always shown her so much affection.

"You don't stop loving someone just because they make bad choices." Then moving her eyes away from Brooke to the floor shyly added. "You should know that Brooke. You still love me."

"Peyton I will always love you-" Brooke started.

"I know you will. But that's not normal. Nobody else would still want to be friends with me Brooke." Peyton vainly tried to blink away tears. "Everybody leaves Brooke. Sam and I both left you. We deserve the emptiness of not having you in our lives."

Brooke barely stifled a sob from erupting in her chest while trying to fan away the tears in her eyes with her hand. She had no idea Peyton carried this burden with her.

"You really do need me to give you some bitch slapping therapy to deal with your issues." Brooke declared with a quivering lip.

She reached out to hug Peyton. Peyton stepped back and roughly shook her head knocking a curly blonde lock of hair in front of her eye. She took a couple of deep breaths before smiling at Brooke. "This is your wedding. You don't need to be sobbing in a bathroom with me. Sam is happy and she is on the right track. She is beautiful and a big reason for that is because of you. You make all the people around you better Brooke."

Brooke forced Peyton into a hug. "I love you, but this guilt thing you have with me is really starting to piss me off. You have made me a better person too. Thick and thin you have been a constant in my life." Then holding Peyton's face in her hands and pulling their eyes together asked. "You never stopped loving me did you? Even when I shut you out."

Peyton's face flushed as she cried. "No. Never. I always loved my B. Davis." Peyton's buried her head in Brooke's shoulder and wrapped her arms around her waist as she dealt with the sobs that overcame her.

"You aren't dear to me just because I have sanity issues." Brooke huffed lovingly rubbing her friend's back. She felt Peyton's arms tighten around her waist. "I love you because you made it so I didn't have to face the darkness alone. Don't you think that's worth something?"

"I guess so." Peyton sniffled into her shoulder.

"Peyton!" Brooke said sternly as she pulled her friend off her shoulder and looked into her eyes. "You guess so!"

"Yes that's worth something?" She conceded with a self-deprecating smile as Brooke gently rubbed her cheek with her thumb before drawing Peyton's head back to her shoulder.

"Sorry to interrupt your private party in this PUBLIC bathroom, but the photographer is looking for the bride." Said a sarcastic voice Brooke had desperately missed hearing.

"Sam get me some tissue paper for Peyton. And bring her purse over here too." Brooke ordered.

"Why is she crying?" Sam asked.

"Don't worry about that Sam. Just do as I say." Brooke said as she lifted the blonde mess of curls up from her shoulder and began wiping the tears from Peyton's eyes.

"Did she punch you again Peyton?" Sam asked as she delivered the tissue paper and purse Brooke demanded.

"No I didn't punch her!" Brooke gasped pulling Peyton close as they both stared at Sam. "She's my soul sister." Peyton smiled broadly and wrapped her arms tight around Brooke's neck.

A few minutes later Peyton's eyes were dry and her make-up perfectly reapplied. Sometimes Brooke even impressed herself. "Peyt I need you to tell the photographer to chill out for a little while. I need some time to talk to Sam."

"Not a problem." Peyton said. Then with an impish smile added. "I will just have him take a bunch of pictures of me. I am always looking for a chance to flaunt my hotness."

"Why do you want to talk to me Brooke? Are you hoping to make me cry too?" Sam warily asked.

"You will just have to wait and find out." Brooke smirked. Then to Peyton, with newfound realization dawning on her, said. "I am not going to see you again." Brooke started crying.

"No no no honey don't do this right now." Peyton comforted. "I will be sure to say goodbye to you before I go. Right now just focus on your girl. Okay?"

Brooke nodded her head and wiped her eyes. "Okay." She agreed. "But you have to say goodbye to me before I leave, oh and you need to visit more than once every two years. That really does make me sad."

Peyton kissed her on the cheek "Yes and yes." She said, then exited the bathroom.

Once they were alone Sam focused her stare on Sam as she walked up to her. Sam looked uncomfortably to the floor. "So what's up?" She asked casually despite her obvious unease about the attention Brooke was giving her.

"What's up is I am wondering how you are doing?" Brooke answered in a blasé tone mirroring Sam's.

"I'm good." Sam answered. "The photographer is really wanting you out there."

"Sam I am really pressed for time so you are going to have to cut all the crap and be straight up with me. I want your complete honesty. Do you understand?" Brooke pointedly asked as she gently, but firmly grabbed Sam's shoulders."

"Sure." Sam reluctantly answered. "Are you going to hook me up to a machine and torture me if you think I am lying?"

Brooke shot Sam a 'Don't screw around with me' look causing Sam to roll her eyes. "Fine, I will be honest with you, but there is not really anything interesting to say."

"The fact that it is you makes it interesting to me." Brooke said. Sam smiled and Brooke continued "So it looks like you are working, do sports, avoiding std's and unwanted pregnancy, and doing your homework, which are all good things now I just need to know if you are-"

"Um. How do you know all that?" Sam interrupted.

"I have my North Carolina network." Brooke answered, then pointing her index and middle fingers to her eyes and moving them towards Sam said "I'm watching you."

Sam smiled incredulously. "I can't believe you were just using Peyton as a spy."

"Oh she's not my only one." Brooke said "Now, focus. I am very happy to hear all of those things, especially the part about keeping your pants zipped up because those types of mistakes really can mess your life up."

"Brooke you are entering the discomfort zone." Sam blushed.

"My book said that is a good place for mother's to visit." Brooke stated "Now stop interrupting. I need to know if you are happy."

Sam stared blankly at Brooke for half a minute before Brooke softly shook her shoulders.

"Sam, pressed for time here, answer the question." She urged.

"I-I don't know." Sam said.

"What do you mean you don't know?" Brooke asked astonished.

"I mean I don't know!" Sam defended. "I mean Rebecca is super nice and I know she cares about me, but-I don't know. Yes I am happy. Can I go now?"

"Sam I am not very convinced. I am glad Rebecca is nice, well sort of-in some ways I wish she was terrible so you would want to come back and be with me…and I can't believe I just said that out loud. But the non-evil part of me is glad she is nice." Brooke felt blood rushing to her face. This conversation was not going how she pictured it. Not that she really knew how she pictured it, but however it was this wasn't it.

"Brooke-" Sam started

"No wait Sam. This is not going right. I-I just want to be friends again. I know I haven't called or anything and that is because I didn't want to get in the way. It just felt awkward, but that is so stupid. We love each other. We have history now but I don't even know anything about you anymore. Please say it is okay if we are friends. I won't even get in the way of your life with Rebecca."

"Sure. I guess." Sam carefully answered.

Brooke rolled her eyes. "Yeah. That was so convincing." She said taking her hands off of Sam's shoulders and placing them at her side.

"Look." Brooke said lowering her eyes to the ground for a second before returning her gaze back to Sam's eyes. "I love you Sam. I don't have as much money as I used to but, if you need something you can call me okay."

Sam looked surprised at first then hurt.

"Yeah Brooke. That's why I came here. It was to get some money." Sam scoffed then shook her head. "I just came here to tell you the photographer's looking for you. So you better go attend to the rest of your guests."

Sam started to move around Brooke toward the door, but was stopped short when Brooke grabbed her elbow.

"I don't want to fight with you Sam."

"I don't want to fight with you either Brooke."

"So why are we fighting?"

"We're not I am telling you to enjoy your wedding."

Brooke felt tears welling up in her eyes. She could not end things like this with Sam. "Sam. Please don't be mad at me. I love you so much and I know I can't be your mother, but I still want to be your friend."

Sam's eyes filled with pity and soon Brooke felt herself being enveloped in a gentle hug.

"You are my mother Brooke, and you're my friend too." She pulled away from Brooke looked at her. "Okay?" She asked.

"Sure" Brooke nodded as she turned away from Sam for fear of crying. She was now officially Sam's pity friend. How had she let the girl drift so far from her?

"Yeah. That was so convincing." Sam said mimicking Brooke's earlier comment and bringing a smile to the new bride's face.

"Sorry." Brooke managed to say as she quickly wiped a tear away from her eye. She had been crying way too much today. She was certain she was dehydrated.

"First Mom, I am going to feel like the biggest jerk in the world if you leave crying. Please don't cry."

Brooke forced a smile. "I'm not going to cry Sam. I know you're happy and you're making good choices. That was mostly what I wanted to know. Call me if you need anything." Brooke let go of Sam's arm allowing the girl to walk away. Sam grabbed the handle to open the door before hesitating and then suddenly turning the deadbolt to lock it.

"I miss you Brooke. I miss you a lot. I know leaving was a heartless thing to do, but I had to discover my roots. I had to know where I came from before I could move forward. I don't expect you to understand because I don't even understand. What I do want you to understand is you are burned into my mind forever. And you do not have to worry about Rebecca. She is grateful for the role you played in my life too.

You are the first person who showed me what a mother was supposed to be, and the amazing thing is you didn't even have a good example to follow. You are a beautiful mother." Sam said as she slowly closed the distance between her and Brooke.

Brooke smiled broadly and let Sam wrap her in a warm embrace. She enjoyed the feeling of Sam's hands stroking her back as she laid her head on the girl's shoulder.

"You know." Sam continued in a watery voice. "It's all the little things that seem to mean the most to me. It's like the magic of motherhood is more like a long distance marathon, than a heroic sprint. Like saving me from the psycho for some strange reason means less to me than all the nights you helped me through my nightmares. All the days you dragged me out of bed and made me breakfast. The times you coddled me like a baby when I was sick. I mean I know I pretended to hate that, but I loved every moment of it."

Brooke laughed into Sam's shoulder. "I KNEW you loved to be coddled when you were sick."

"_Sam. It's breakfast." Brooke called out just as she finished pouring Sam's orange juice. After a minute of silence she called again. "Sam! It's breakfast. Get up" She pounded on the door a couple of times for emphasis. Why was it such a pain to get that girl up in the morning? Maybe it was the mattress. Brooke considered the possibility of replacing Sam's feathery-soft mattress with a hard and lumpy one, but discarded the idea when she thought about how much more it might increase Sam's grumpy factor. A bucket of cold water might do the trick, then again Sam might retaliate. She recalled her revenge on Peyton during a camping trip. Brooke matched a morning bowl of cold water in her face by putting Peyton's hand in a warm bowl of water while she slept. Peyton's punishment was worse. _

"_Sam! I hope you're dressed because I am coming in." Brooke announced moments before she barged into Sam's room._

_Brooke's blood pressure rose when she saw the girl still huddled under her covers. "Get out of bed! Samantha it is 7:22. You are going to be late."_

"_I don't feel good." Sam moaned._

"_Actually what won't feel good is when I make you go to school in your underwear with an empty stomach. Which is exactly what I will do if you do not get ready for school. Now get up."_

"_Go ahead. See if I care. I would enjoy all the extra attention from the boys. They might even feed me." Sam challenged her from under her blankets as she drew them tighter around her body._

_Brooke fumed. How was she supposed to properly discipline an apathetic child? She ripped the blanket off the bed and onto the floor triggering an eruption of squawking and profanity from the girl._

"_Language Sam. I have soap and I know how to use it." Brooke warned._

"_I'm cold and I told you I don't feel good!" Sam screamed before bawling into her pillow. Brooke hesitated. Maybe Sam was telling the truth. The girl really didn't lie very often, and she usually went to school without too much of a fuss. Brooke walked beside the bed. Sam was wearing her purple shirt with black stripes and teal pajama pants. Brooke was certain Sam was intentionally breaking all the fashion rules. Nobody could get it that wrong on accident._

_Brooke reached down and touched the side of Sam's head. She was hot to the touch. Guilt consumed Brooke. How could she have been so insensitive? "Oh Sam. I am so sorry." Brooke apologized. The torrent of emotion made her voice raspier than usual. "Everything is going to be alright." Brooke reassured Sam as she leaned down to pick up the discarded blanket._

_Sam rolled on her back to look at Brooke. Her face was deathly pale and her teeth clattered together as her whole body trembled and shivered. "Oh Sam. I really am sorry." Brooke repeated as she quickly bundled her up in the blanket. "I'm going to take care of you. Everything will be okay."_

"_Brooke, I'm sick, not dying." Sam said as she shivered and drew the blanket closer around herself "You seriously need to un-bunch your panties."_

_Brooke sat next to Sam and stroked her hot, pasty-white forehead. "Sam." She said sweetly and softly. "Do you remember when we watched the Princess Bride, how that one guy was healing Westley so he could be healthy for his torturing and death?"_

"_I think I know where this is going." Sam said._

"_Good." Brooke smiled before placing a kiss on her forehead._

"_It means I have a free pass until I get better." Sam said with a smile that was interrupted by a fit of coughing_

_Brooke went into alarm mode again. "Don't worry Sam." She said as she jumped to her feet. "I am actually really good at taking care of sick people. Peyton and I always took care of each other. So I am going to get all the supplies. Okay."_

_Before Sam could answer Brooke was out the door. She filled a mixing bowl and a large glass with ice water, then grabbed a wash cloth, and a bottle of aspirin. Carrying all that back to the room was a pain. "Alwost weddy." Brooke said through the aspirin bottle in her mouth as she walked into the room. Sam giggled. _

"_What'h tho thunny" Brooke demanded as she placed the bowl and glass on the nightstand next to the bed before popping the very wet aspirin bottle out of her mouth._

"_That's real sanitary super mom." Sam scoffed._

"_Oh. Woops. Sorry dear. Let me take care of that for you." Brooke said as she lifted the corner of the blanket off of Sam's shoulder and wiped the bottle dry on her tacky pajama top._

"_Gross!" Sam griped "Spreading the disease!"_

"_I'm not the sick one." Brooke countered. Then asked "Can you swallow pills honey or do you need me to crush them and mix them in sugar-water for you?"_

_Sam stared at Brooke in slack-jawed awe for a moment before asking. "Are you serious?"_

"_Yeah." Brooke answered apprehensively._

_Sam poked out her bottom lip, widened her eyes, and said in a high-pitched baby voice "No mommy I can't swawwow piws. And after you cwush my wittle piws into my sugar-water could you pweese change my diapie?" Sam innocently batted her eyes as she waited for Brooke to answer._

_This child is unbearable at times. Brooke thought. "Okay first of all. Shut it." Brooke began. "And second how am I supposed to know whether or not you can swallow pills. I made sugar-water medicine for Peyton until she was like 17."_

_Sam stared at Brooke in complete disbelief._

"_Of course." Brooke continued "I later found out that was just because she liked sugar-water, but still."_

_Sam started laughing. Her sickness made the laugh sound more like a gasp for air. "You're telling me you crushed Peyton's pills for her until she was 17!" Sam wheezed. _

"_Only when she was sick." Brooke said. _

_Sam's laughing sent her into another coughing fit. _

_Although a woman of healthy self-confidence Brooke felt a twinge of insecurity and embarrassment grow within her as daughter's jeers continued. Maybe she wasn't so good at helping people, other than Peyton, get better. Brooke shook off the insecurity and grabbed two aspirin from the bottle and offered them along with the cup of water to Sam._

"_Aspirin has kind of a bad rap. Anyone who tells you aspirin isn't the wonder drug for pain and fevers is either lying or paranoid" Brooke stated. Then offhandedly added. "Or pregnant. Aspirin is bad for you if you're pregnant, but not nearly as bad as I would be."_

_Sam looked blankly at the medicine and water. "I want sugar water." She said._

"_Remember, once you are healthy again I will have no problem torturing you." Brooke quietly warned._

_Sam rolled her eyes and mumbled something about a big rip off as she took the medicine and handed the cup back to Brooke._

"_Peyton was so lucky." Sam solemnly observed as she stared through Brooke to the wall behind her. Her body trembled beneath the blankets. "I would have killed to have a friend like you. Just one friend would have made so much difference. And a friend willing to turn my medicine into sugar-water; talk about a jack-pot. I mean didn't Mary Poppins sing a song about that?"_

_Sam's somewhat sarcastic, but loving words washed over Brooke as she smiled and cupped Sam's face in her hand. The heat wave emanating from Sam's skin reminded her just how sick the child was. Brooke soaked the washcloth in the bowl of ice-water, rang it out, and put it on Sam's forehead._

"_What the hell!" Sam screeched shooting upright._

"_Language." Brooke sternly reminded Sam as she gently laid her back down._

"_Did you pull that crap with Peyton?"_

"_Yes." Brooke replied. "And I got the same reaction from her. I've played this game before and I always win. Resistance is futile." _

_Sam grumbled but relented. _

"_You will thank me later." Brooke said then after a beat "Well actually; No, no you won't, but just so you know, this washcloth is all that stands between you and fever-induced brain damage. I'm the only reason Peyton's not a slobbering vegetable." _

"_It's too bad she wasn't as diligent a friend as you." Sam sympathized._

_Brooke grabbed a few cubes of ice from the ice-water, tore the blanket out of Sam's grasp, and jammed the ice cubes under her shirt onto the bare skin of her back. Sam jumped out of her bed twitching and jigging to get the ice out of her shirt as she screeched curses at Brooke._

"_I am going to go ahead and get some cough medicine, and movies." Brooke casually stated before leaving the room._

_A few minutes later Brooke returned with several movies, cough medicine, and a teaspoon. Sam was huddled on the bed under the covers. "Time for yummy grape flavored medicine." Brooke announced._

"_Go away." Sam grumped. "I'm still mad about the ice trauma."_

_Brooke smiled. "You deserved that and you know it. Now take your medicine." She ordered putting a teaspoon of cough medicine in front of her girl. Sam mumbled something incomprehensible and took the medicine. "You get one more." Brooke happily proclaimed as she carefully filled the spoon again and gave it to Sam. Sam grumbled something about poison before taking the second teaspoon and flopping back down on the bed. Brooke walked over to Sam's TV and started 'Beauty and the Beast'. It had such wonderful music. _

"_Are you hungry yet?" Brooke asked._

"_No!" Sam barked_

"_Fine," Brooke said. "but at 11:00 you are eating something whether you want it or not. Your body needs energy to heal." Brooke walked back over to the bed and got under the covers next to Sam. She sat cross-legged with a pillow between her back and the headboard. Samantha laid her feverish head on Brooke's lap. Brooke rewetted the washcloth and put it back over her forehead. Sam didn't seem to care as much this time. The first time was always the worst._

"_I feel terrible." Sam moaned._

"_I know baby." Brooke said as she rubbed the pitiful girl's back. "The aspirin will make the pain will go away pretty soon."_

"_Okay." Sam whimpered _

_Brooke ran her fingers through Sam's hair. She wished she had brought a brush. She was sure Sam put her hair in a lawnmower every night after Brooke went to sleep. There was just no way hair could get this crazy during the normal course of sleeping._

"_Gaston is the hottest Disney villain." Sam said "The bad guys are usually big nosed creepy looking things."_

"_Like Jack Daniels?" Brooke asked._

"_Watch it! That's my friend you're dissing on." Sam said delivering a poke to Brooke's side._

"_Fine." Brooke agreed. "I won't diss on your buddy."_

"_Speaking of buddies." Sam said. "Did you throw ice down Peyton's shirt too?" _

"_Only when she deserved it." Brooke replied. "Which was almost every time. She's an even bigger whiner than you when she's sick."_

"_I'm still upset about not getting any sugar water." Sam complained._

"_Maybe if you behave yourself I'll give you another chance." Brooke said as she worked on disentangling a massive knot in Sam's hair. "What do you do at night?" Brooke asked_

"_Sleep." Sam answered. "What did you do at night when you were 15?"_

"_I was thinking about what you said about me being the most awesome friend ever." Brooke said, ignoring Sam's question._

"_That's not what I said." _

"_Sam, don't ruin the magic. You said Mary Poppins sang songs about people like me."_

"_Okay." Sam conceded. "I admit it you would have been a good friend."_

"_Ohh." Brooke said in an emotion-choked voice as she squeezed Sam's shoulders between her hands in an awkward hug. "It's small moments like these that make all the misery you put me through worth it." _

"_Were you complimenting me or dissing me?" Sam asked_

"_Both." Brooke answered. "What I don't understand though is why you wish you had a friend like me when I'm right here."_

"_You're not my friend. You're my mother –ur..I mean…uh- Mother figure. There is a big difference."_

"_So a mother 'figure' can't be a friend?" Brooke asked, accentuating the word 'figure' with disgust, as she gently trailed her index finger along Sam's face._

"_I can't talk with you about how hot Tim Jenson is or what a hoe Jessica Swenson is, or how gross it is having to watch our stupid teacher, Mr. Capsule, try to teach us algebra in his practically transparent shirts."_

"_You can talk with me about those things." Brooke said_

"_It's totally not the same."_

"_Why not?"_

"_Because!" Sam exclaimed. "We lead different lives and see the same thing in different ways."_

"_I haven't forgotten what it was like to be a teenager. I'm not an old woman." Brooke said she felt a little hurt that Sam didn't view her as someone who could be her friend._

"_Brooke I don't want you to be my buddy!" Sam snapped then adding in a softer tone. "I-I have Jack, and Peyton, and even Jamie. I don't need you for that" _

"_Oh." Brooke said. _

_Correction, she didn't feel a little hurt. She felt mortally wounded. Tears spilled freely down her eyes. She withdrew her hand from Sam's cheek. Previously Brooke thought of humiliation as the time she had to face her entire high school with nothing more than a sock puppet to speak in her favor as student body president. This moment had redefined humiliation. She had to think of a way to leave indiscreetly. An involuntary sob escaped her mouth._

"_Brooke?" She heard Sam ask with concern, or pity. Brooke didn't want pity._

"_I'm going to call the school." She choked out as she lifted herself off of the bed and headed out the door._

"_Brooke?" Sam hoarsely called after her._

_Brooke rushed to her bedroom and closed the door behind her before flopping on her bed and weeping bitterly into her pillow. How could Sam love Jack, Peyton, and Jamie more than her? She felt a little guilty about her jealously over Peyton and Jamie since they were delightful, but they hadn't put nearly as much into Sam as Brooke had. Sam would never love her. _

_Brooke didn't even try to stop crying._

_Several minutes later Brooke heard the door open. "Brooke." A quiet, but gruff teenager voice called. Brooke quickly wiped her eyes and composed herself the best she could. "What?" She softly answered. Sam slowly stepped in the door. Her hair was combed and she was wearing school clothes._

"_Did you call the school yet?" She asked staring at the floor._

"_Um. No. No. It must have slipped my mind. I'll do that right away" Brooke answered forcing a smile on her face and rising to go out the door. Sam blocked her path, without meeting her gaze._

"_Uh. Well. I was thinking I would just go to school."_

"_But you're sick." Brooke said. "I mean really sick."_

"_I know. But the medicine is working so I feel better now." Then almost in a whisper. "Besides it would probably be better if I wasn't around right now."_

_Brooke ignored the new wave of tears threatening to spring out. "Sam it's not better if you're gone. And I really don't want you going to school sick. You need to rest. Please just go to bed."_

"_I don't want to be here if you're just going to ignore me all day." Sam whispered still unable to take her eyes off the floor. "I didn't mean to make you cry. I just say the wrong things sometimes."_

"_Just forget about it Sam. It's water under the bridge. Let's just move on." Brooke said trying to move around Sam. "I'm going to call the school."_

_Keeping her gaze to the floor Sam moved back in front of Brooke and closed the door behind her. "You didn't understand what I was saying Brooke."_

"_Sam I said it's okay. Let's just for-"_

"_You're more important than a friend" Sam interrupted, then raising her head and looking into Brooke's brown eyes said. "You're my mother.. or at least the closest thing I'll ever have to one. I want you to be that for me."_

"Brooke." Sam asked. "Are you still awake?" Sam wiggled her shoulder, jostling Brooke's resting head.

"Of course I'm awake. Stop wiggling." Brooke scolded.

"Oh-Well you just kind of zoned out for a minute." Sam said as she ran her hand along Brooke's spine.

"I have a confession to make." Brooke declared.

"You and Peyton are secret lovers." Sam guessed

Brooke lifted her head to meet Sam's gaze. "No you weirdo! Why would you even think that?"

"I dreamed once that you two were…you know…together. Everyone called you Breyton."

Brooke gawked at Sam in utter bewilderment.

"What?" Sam defended "I can't help what I dream."

"Well, all I have to say is 'Breyton' isn't leaving dreamland."

"That's too bad because you two would be great femslash material."

"Is that some code name for Guns N'Roses groupies?"

"Not at all, but it doesn't matter. What did you want to confess?"

Brooke shook her head. _Teenagers said strange things._

"Well, I kind of used you to help me get through my nightmares too. So the nightmare help thing wasn't really all that heroic of me."

"That's your big confession?" Sam asked. Clearly disappointed.

"Yeah. What did you think I was going to say?" Brooke asked. Then quickly said. "Wait it is probably best if you don't answer that."

A big grin split Sam's face as she shook her head at Brooke. "I already knew you were as big of a wimp as me with the nightmares. Don't even tell me you forgot the first night after you rescued me."

Brooke felt her face redden. "No." She admitted laying her head back on Sam's shoulder "I didn't forget. But a big reason for that was the freaky ass thunderstorm."

"_Thank you for helping us Julian. Thanks for being 'that guy' you told me you weren't when I asked you for help." Brooke said hugging Julian at the door._

"_Yeah thanks." Sam added as she hugged him too._

_Julian returned their hugs. "Yeah it is too bad I wasn't any help at all." He humbly shrugged._

"_Just the fact that you were trying really meant a lot to me. Of course it would have meant much more if you wouldn't have been so incognito about it." Brooke said with a smile_

"_I couldn't have you thinking I was totally wrapped around your pinky." Julian joked._

"_We should be friends. Like for real. You're a good person and I try to keep close to good people." Brooke said_

"_He's been my friend all along." Sam bragged_

"_Deal friend." Julian said offering Brooke his hand._

_Brooke took his hand and gasped he pulled her into another hug. _

"_I told you he was totally into you Brooke." Sam stated dryly_

_Julian smiled and squeezed Sam's shoulder then looking to the darkening cloudy sky said. "It looks like a nasty storm is brewing. I better get going." He turned to leave. "I expect a phone call very soon friend." He said as he walked to his car._

"_Excuse me I get chased. I don't do any chasing." Brooke playfully called back._

"_That's not what Lucas wrote in his book."_

_Brooke huffed. "You better bring me flowers the next time you come over after that cruel comment." She yelled._

"_Done." Julian declared as he got in his car and drove away._

_Brooke watched him go. The smile on her face was starting to hurt her cheeks, but she couldn't make it go away. Julian was awesome!_

"_Please. Get a room! You could even have me stay the night at Peyton's or Haley's if you want extra privacy." _

_Sarcastic Sam was also awesome in her own pain-in-the-neck way. Brooke was so relieved to have her daughter back. She locked Sam in a tight embrace. "Oh Sam." She cried. "I thought I had lost you. You can never run away again." She pushed away slightly to stare into Sam's eyes. "I hope you know by now that this is your home. Never doubt that again!"_

_Sam's eyes misted over. "I won't"_

"_Promise?" Brooke asked._

_Sam smiled and laying her head on Brooke's chest said. "I promise." _

_Brooke gave Sam another squeeze and then looked at her watch. She couldn't believe it was only 9:30. It felt like midnight. "I am having Millie, and Peyton cover for me at the store for the next couple of days. Do you want to go to school tomorrow or would you rather stay home?" Brooke asked._

"_I would rather stay here. Jack can bring my homework over." Sam answered._

"_Okay." Brooke said. Then riding another wave of relief and joy at her child's safe return drew her close and kissed her temple. "I am glad you are safe. I am so happy you are with me."_

"_I'm really sorry about everything Brooke. I know lots of bad things have happened because of me. And I just-"_

"_Way more good things have come to me because of you than bad." Brooke interrupted cupping the teen's face in her hands. She felt Sam's tears moisten her fingers._

"_I can't think of anything right way, but okay." Sam smirked._

"_I have someone to eat breakfast with me every morning, complain about with Haley, watch movies that are way too scary to watch by myself-" _

"_I still get freaked out by static TV screens from The Ring by-the-way." Sam interrupted_

_Brooke ignored her. "someone who writes poetry and stories I love to read-"_

"_What! It's so not fun having your mother be best friends with your teacher." Sam complained_

_Brooke grinned and kissed her cheek then continued "I have someone to talk about my day with every night. I have someone who is just the right combination of cool and kind to make my godson feel special."_

"_I thought that made you jealous."_

"_Feelings are messy." Brooke explained as though stating the obvious. "I have someone who loves and needs me even though she pretends really hard not to. I have a daughter Sam. And for me that is a really big deal."_

_Sam suddenly plunged into Brooke's arms. She felt the teen's arms wrap around her back as she nestled against her chest. "I love you."_

"_I love you too Sam." Brooke said as she held Sam's head firm against her shoulder and kissed her hair. "I love you too."_

"_You know my biggest fear of having children is that they will turn out like me. I think it is funny that that is what you want."_

"_Watching my grandchildren tip your world upside down is something I am really looking forward to." Brooke giggled before asking. "Are you as wiped out as I am?" _

"_Yeah." Sam answered pulling away from Brooke._

"_Let's get rea-"_

_Brooke was interrupted by a flash of lighting, an earsplitting boom of thunder, and a sudden torrential downpour of rain beating against the house._

_The thunder startled both girls back into an embrace. "You wanna sleep with me tonight?" Brooke asked._

"_What you afraid of a little storm?" Sam teased._

"_No." Brooke lied, stepping back and assuming a nonchalant stance. "I just thought you might be."_

"_I'm not scared either." Sam said loudly against the roar of the rain._

"_Oh okay. So see you in the morning." Brooke awkwardly said._

"_Okay." Sam agreed as they each headed to their respective rooms._

_Twenty minutes later Brooke was tucked away in her bed trying to forget about the storm that raged around her. Soon enough she drifted off to sleep._

_Brooke watched helplessly as the masked man's fierce punches pounded into Sam's now broken body. Each merciless strike was accentuated with a loud boom._

_Brooke shot up in her bed. Perspiration soaked her hair and wet tears sopped her cheeks. Lightning illuminated her room through the window for a moment. Darkness re-enveloped the room before the monstrous bellow of the thunder ceased. Brooke hated thunder and lighting. She wished Sam were with her. _

_Brooke's tears and sweat left her face feeling grimy. _

_She rose and walked to the bathroom. Nothing happened when she flipped the light switch. She groaned. She hated looking at mirrors in the dark. Lightning flashed briefly illuminating the room enough for the mirror to reveal X's masked face behind her. Brooke screamed and turned around. Lightning flashed again. X was not there. Brooke looked around frantically. Brooke wondered if it was just her imagination. _

"_I'm gonna slit her throat and drink her blood Brookie." Brooke turned to the voice. _

_Lightning flashed. She saw X's image in the mirror but not her own. X lunged out at her shattering the mirror as he crashed through it and grabbed her throat._

_Brooke shot up in her bed. Perspiration soaked her hair and wet tears sopped her cheeks. Lightning illuminated her room through the window for a moment. Darkness re-enveloped the room before the monstrous bellow of the thunder ceased. Brooke hated thunder and lighting. She wished Sam were with her. _

_Lightning flashed revealing a lump in the bed under the covers. Sam must have gotten scared and come in to sleep with her._

"_I'm glad you're sleeping like a baby." Brooke said reaching over and touching her shoulder. The lump in the bed turned over revealing X's, now unmasked, grinning face. _

"_I'm having trouble sleeping mommy. How 'bout a hug."_

_Brooke shot up in her bed. Perspiration soaked her hair and wet tears sopped her cheeks. Lightning illuminated her room through the window for a moment. Darkness re-enveloped the room before the monstrous bellow of the thunder ceased. Brooke jumped out of her bed screaming at the top of her lungs. Soon the light flickered on. Sam was at the door, looking terrified._

"_Are you real?" Brooke whimpered as she started to back away. Please don't turn into X._

_Thunder cracked again sending Brooke into an adrenaline packed fear overload. She screamed and cried. She felt an arm slip softly around her shoulder then saw Sam's frightened eyes peering into her own. "Sam?" Brooke sobbed._

"_Yeah." Sam answered. "It's me. Everything is okay. You're safe."_

"_I dreamed you were getting hurt." Brooke cried. "It was terrible. It was so real."_

"_None of it was real Brooke." Sam said moving Brooke's sweat dampened hair out of her face. "What's real is me and you safe in our house and Xander locked away and rotting in a cage. You beat him Brooke. You beat him."_

"_Okay." Brooke agreed. "But can you stay with me anyway. I lied about not being afraid of thunderstorms. I hate them. They have always scared me."_

"_That sounds fine. I feel safer with you anyway." Sam said as she guided Brooke back to the bed. Brooke laid down and let Sam cover her with the blanket. "Is it okay if I leave the light on?" Sam asked. Brooke nodded. She was pretty sure Sam was asking the question to save Brooke's pride more than anything else, but she was glad because she did not want to be in the dark right now._

_Sam scooted under the covers laying on her back and pulled Brooke close to her so her head rested on her chest. Brooke had held Sam this way a couple times, but never the other way around. It felt good to be the hugee. Brooke slid her arms around Sam's shoulders and relaxed into her embrace. Sam's arms cradled Brooke's head. She felt Sam plant a few kisses in her hair as she whispered soft reassurances. The furious storm outside didn't bother her anymore. She felt safe. Unfortunately, her feeling of embarrassment increased as her fear came down to a manageable level. "So you probably think I am the ultimate wienie." Brooke said._

_Brooke felt the teens arms tighten around her. "Brooke you single-handedly rescued me from a psychotic killer. You're heroic." Sam whispered with firm intensity. "You just remember who won that fight."_

"_I don't feel very heroic." Brooke shuddered into her daughter's shoulder._

"_Shh Brooke. Just go to sleep alright." Brooke felt Sam's fingers gently rubbing along her face and eyes lulling her into a restful sleep._

A banging on the bathroom door startled both Sam and Brooke. "Brooke it's time to go girl. Julian's starting to wonder if you are a runaway bride." Peyton's voice called from the other side of the door.

"I'll kick her out of here in just a second." Sam yelled back. Then grabbing Brooke by the shoulders and looking into her eyes said. "Mom. It's time to go. It was so good to see you. You are so amazing and your golden-heart touches everyone around you. You have an awesome husband, loyal friends, a formerly cold-hearted mother that loves you, and a daughter that will never ever forget you. Now let's fix your make-up and get you out of here before your husband goes home crying."

Brooke smiled. "Sounds good First Daughter."


End file.
